Silence
by Lionwings
Summary: It all started with a simple picture, but then went to a three step plan? How does that work? NaminéXSora.
1. The Sleeping Boy

**Author's Note: Hey Peoples! It's Lionwings again. I know that my last fic was a little depressing and had Yaoi in it. This one is something I've wanted to do for a while but I've never had the intent to actually try it. So... Yeah... I hope you like it. This is going to have more than one chapter but I want some reviews before I post the next one. I'm still new so I really don't care about what the reviews are. Some constructive criticism would be nice. And because This is a NaminéXSora fanfic I'll allow one of them to do the honors.**

**Naminé: ...**

**Oops I forgot you're mute in this story...**

**Sora: Lionwings doesn't own anything. If he did Kairi would have died in the first two minutes of the game and Naminé would have taken over the world.  
**

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Silence

_I never wanted any of this. I never wanted to be different. I never wanted to be singled out. I never wanted to be treated differently. I never wanted to be avoided. I never even wanted "Special Attention." I just wanted a real life. I just wanted to blend in and be a normal person. I just wanted to live, but no. I had to be mute. I had to be without the ability of speech. I had to be different._

_I never wanted that. But I did want to live. I wanted life more than anything else. No one would let me live it though. I was just something fragile, something that couldn't be left alone. Well it was then and there I decided that I would try my best to live without help. I never accepted people doing things for me. I never wanted it or needed it._

_I walked to school every day, by myself. I made some friends, by myself. I got great grades in school, by myself. Are you seeing a pattern? By myself, by myself, by myself, I did everything, by myself._

_It wasn't going to be easy though, trying to live like that. Someone would always be there to look after me, but not if I had anything to say about it._

I finished typing on my computer. I looked at the screen and smiled. I liked asserting myself. Too bad it was all lies. I didn't do much by myself. I just made myself comply with the demands of the people who took care of me. I never did anything right when I tried it. The only things I could do were draw and write.

Not all of the things were lies though. I did make some friends. I did get good grades. They just sort of… came to me instead of me coming to them.

'Why do I always lie to myself like this?'

I could never find an answer to that question though. It was always the same. I wanted to make life better, but I couldn't.

I turned off my computer and went to sleep. I loved the dreams I would get, dreams of other worlds and of other people, dreams filled with songs and beauty, dreams filled with color and fragrance. What I loved most of all though were dreams where I could speak.

'What mute wouldn't love that?' I would think to myself.

It wasn't long before I fell asleep. I would fall right into my favorite place in the world and look at the sky, thinking of nothing but silent dreams and falling stars.

"Naminé wake up! It's already ten. You should be up and ready by now. Olette is going to be waiting for you. And you remember how bad Olette can be when you're late."

I shuddered in my cozy bed. 'An angry Olette is not a good thing to have waiting for you when you get out of bed. I had better get a move on,' I thought.

Five minutes later I was showered and dressed in my normal white dress. It was a comfortable feeling following the same routine. It made me feel like life could be easy and doesn't have to be filled with hassles, unfortunately, that as before I saw Olette walking up to the front door of my house. Olette is a pretty girl. She is beautiful in almost every way: her dark brown hair, her emerald eyes, and even her electric personality. It always made me feel inferior to stand next to her. She was my only girl friend though. She was my only friend actually. She was the only one I could trust to do anything for me. Including keeping secrets, Olette is one of the greatest secret keepers I know.

"Naminé, you had better be up or I'll come in there and wake you up. Again," She yelled through my upstairs window. I grimaced and ran down the stairs.

My mom was waiting for me next to the door. "Good luck with Olette honey. She is almost exactly like her father. I swear Squall taught her to be exactly like him," She smiled compassionately. She was always the compassionate one. My father was the strict one. I didn't mind him that much though. He always wanted to keep me safe and I guess I'll have to live with it until I move out.

I nodded my head stupidly. I hugged her and she surprised me by handing me a small knapsack. I looked at her curiously. "It's all of your notepads and sketch books. Don't worry honey. I wouldn't let you go out for a day with Olette without them. I know how much she wants you to talk to other people, just try but if you can't just draw your feelings. I know you're getting better at sign language but you don't like it. I know that. Just do what you feel is right Naminé."

I loved my mom. She was always so cool. She always understood me and knew what I was thinking before I did. She was like the voice I never had. "Now go or Olette will bust down the door again. She is so feisty."

I smiled and opened the door. "About time you got out here! We have to get to the park before all the little brats take over and try to steal my swing again! You know what happened the last time I didn't get my swing don't you?"

Unfortunately I did remember. She threw the kid off the swing and he went home crying. I heard a rumor afterwards that the family left town and moved somewhere far away. I didn't believe it until I found a poster that said a mean person bullying a kid caused a whole family to move. Olette went to some anger management classes for a while. They didn't work very well.

I nodded and she grabbed my hand and dragged me to the park. It was a relatively short trip considering it is right across the street. It isn't as though we're acting like kids or anything, going to the park in the early hours of the day just so we can get spots on the swing sets. We're only high school students. (Sorry. I'm a very sarcastic person.)

"So Name, do you have anyone you like yet? It's only a hop, skip, and a jump until the big dance. I promised myself I would find you a date if it was the last thing I ever did."

I gave her a look and pulled out a small pocket book from the knapsack on my back. I gave her another look and she handed me a pencil. From where you ask? I have no idea. It was always better not to ask questions. "Name? Did you just call me Name?" I wrote. I handed it to her.

"Yeah I just called you Name. I like it. It makes you more mysterious. I mean it's either that or Nami, and let's face it, Nami is a little obvious," She stated simply. I had to agree. I hated that stupid nickname. Nami this, Nami that, it got really annoying sometimes. It was like they only knew me by that name. So I guess Olette having a pet name for me was okay, even if it was something weird like Name.

"Don't worry Name. It isn't like I give you nicknames that stick or anything. You should know me by now. I forget nicknames for people all of the time." It was true. For all of the time I've known Olette she has never stuck with a nickname. She would attempt and then forget like five minutes later. Everything else in the world though was never forgotten. I could tell her one day that I'm actually an alien and she would remember that I said that in a specific place at a specific time and even with a specific tone. It is almost creepy how good her memories are. Not that I could talk in the first place but you get my point.

"Do I see someone in my swing? I had better not see anyone in my swing!" Olette yelled at the kids in the park. They all turned and stared at Olette before yelling, "SHE'S BACK! EVERYONE RUN!" She just smiled. Sometimes she scared me just as much as she scared the kids.

"Okay Name, let's get our swings." She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the swings. She sat on the one to the far left and I sat right next to her. It was comfortable sitting in the rubber swings. One by one the kids started coming back to the playground. Normally they only ran away until Olette was appeased with their offering of the swing set and then after she got what she wanted they ran back and started playing again. She didn't actually hate the kids, she just wanted her swing. Luckily they understood this tidbit of information.

"Okay, so before we were so rudely interrupted, do you like anyone? Come on Name! I need something to go on!"

I shook my head. I really had nothing this time. No one I like, no one I think is cute; I don't even have a friend with a Y-chromosome. I know that sounds cliché but believe me; I tried my best to get one. It just didn't work out that well. Olette knew that but she continued to pester me on this point. She was quite determined, I am afraid, to find me a boyfriend. God only knows I tried to stop her multiple times.

"You lie! I know you do! It isn't as though you're ugly or anything. Quite the contrary actually, you just happen to be one of the prettiest girls in school. You just need to get over your little… shyness problem."

I rolled my eyes quite visibly. 'She's impossible.'

"Okay, if you want to go you can," She surprised me with her statement. "I know you want to go draw in the park. You only put up with me because I make you." She smiled at me warmly.

I was confused. Did she know I was going to go draw in the park? Or did she just assume? I really didn't know. Olette was always an enigma to me. Sometimes she guessed exactly what I was thinking, other times she would just stare at me and hand me a pencil and say, "Write it."

I nodded and smiled at her. She handed me a pencil and pushed me away from the swings. "Hey kids, I am thirsty. I command you to bring me water!"

'Same old Olette,' I thought. 'She almost never changes.'

I walked away from the playground. I could see the kids running around trying to find water for Olette. She was rubbing the back of her neck and explaining that she was kidding around to one of the older looking kids. They apparently didn't understand her sarcasm and kept scrambling around looking for water. I turned around and walked into the forest at the edge of the playground area. There were three paths that each led into the forest and all ended up back at this spot. I walked in and started walking down the path to the far left. Along the small beaten dirt path were tall trees and beautiful flowers of pink, yellow, purple, blue, red, orange, and even some colors I couldn't name. It was a beautiful place. The leaves were falling down from the trees and landed silently onto the ground.

The silent journey was always one of my favorite parts about coming to the park. No one normally came down these paths, so normally I could act like myself. I could show off and not have to care about who would see me. The path was long and tiring but it was always worth it to get to the best spot in the park. I was the only one who knew about it and I planned on keeping it that way if I had anything to say about it.

I was finally at the end of the trail and I smiled at what I saw in front of me. It was a small pond surrounded on all sides by trees. It was enveloped in silence and there was barely a sound to be heard from all around. The only noises were the birds singing in the trees and the flowing of water from the stream leading into the pond. The water was a clear blue and sparkled in the sunlight. It shined with a lustrous gleam that reflected itself onto the forest around it and illuminated the whole area.

I gazed on the sight for a moment until I had remembered why I came to this spot. I walked over towards the left edge of the lake and sat on a small, wooden bench that sat next to a large oak tree. It was the perfect place to be. No one would bother you because everyone thought the place was haunted. Little did they know I started that rumor, with a little help from Olette of course. I sat on the bench and pulled out my drawing supplies from my backpack. I've drawn this place more than a dozen times but something about it changes every time I draw. Sometimes there are geese swimming on the surface, sometimes there are wild flowers covering every inch of the grass. Once there was even a couple of deer sleeping silently on the other side of the pond. The fawn came up to me and let me pet it. I still see it around here every once in a while. So I named it Bambi.

Well that day was like any other when I came and sat down on my bench. The pond had changed but not in the way I had expected at all. There was a teenage boy, about my age, sleeping under the oak tree next to my bench. I have to say I was fairly surprised. I had never seen anyone come here, let alone a teenage boy. I looked at his features and saw spiky chocolate brown hair that defied physics, smooth tan skin, and a wide smile across his face even though he was sleeping.

I just stared at him. Something about him was… different. He seemed completely and totally different. He might have been asleep but I felt as if I knew everything about him through his smile. I felt that he would be different from all of those other boys I had met and tried to be friends with. He could have been the first one to talk to me like a real person, not like an inanimate object. I might not have known him, but I might as well try. I was going to start a new at a new school. I was going to be surrounded by new people. I was going to still have Olette, but I was going to try to change. So I thought I might as well try by making a new friend.

I smiled as I got up from the bench and stood over his sleeping form lying underneath the tree. I knelt down and shook his shoulder trying to wake him up. He only snored when I started shaking him. I tried again a little harder but still he didn't wake up. So eventually I gave up and sat back down on the bench. I grabbed my drawing pad from my backpack and decided to draw him sitting under the tree. So I did.

I drew his every contour of his body, from his smiling face to his spiky hair. I drew his clothes and then eventually the rest of the tree. I put every ounce of talent I had for drawing to try and get him right. I finally finished and smiled at my success. I had gotten every detail drawn. I was really excited. I wished to myself that he would wake up so I could show him the picture I drew. The sun was getting low in the sky though and the shades of the sky turned from blue to orange with the arrival of twilight. It was always so peaceful here at twilight. I ripped out the page in my drawing pad flipped it over and wrote the words, "Thanks for letting me draw you."

I set the picture next to him on the grass and grabbed my things. I walked towards the path into the forest and, to my dismay, a girl running down the path towards the pond. I quickly threw myself into the bushes and hid while she barreled by. She had a look of concern on her face, or maybe it was a look of anger? I don't know now that I think about it. Her hair was a light color of auburn and it was rather short, down past her ears but not reaching her shoulders. It was layered and looked like it was ruffled down the back. She was about my height and age and was pale but had a rather timid looking tan across her skin.

"Sora, wake up you lazy bum!" She yelled at the sleeping boy. "I've been looking all over town for you! Do you know how many places there are where the trees are taller than me? What kind of stupid riddle was that anyway? I had to ask you Mother where you were."

The boy, Sora, was sitting up rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry Kairi. I thought that you would get the hint. You should know that I'm not good with riddles."

Kairi looked back at him. This time there was a soft smile on her face. "Don't worry about it Sora. So did you just sleep here the whole time or did you actually do something of meaning to the world?"

Sora gave her a sheepish look. "I just slept," He mumbled back at her.

"Thought so," She smiled triumphantly and looked at Sora. Her eyes caught sight of something and she picked it up. It was my drawing of Sora sleeping under the tree. "Hey Sora, what's this?" She held it in front of his face so he could see it.

My heart nearly stopped when Sora took the picture from Kairi's hands. 'Is he going to like it? Is it creepy for me to draw him and then just run away? Should I go out there and tell them I drew it?" I asked myself all of these questions. I never did answer them.

"I don't know. It's a good picture though. I wonder who drew it," He scratched the back of his head. He turned the picture over and I held my breath as he read the note out loud, "'Thanks for letting me draw you.' I wonder who drew it."

Kairi just gave him a look. "Sora you idiot. You have a secret admirer. Now come on, a drawing that good could only come from our school right? You know how talented the art department is!"

"Yeah that's true. Kingsolver High is a very talented school," He replied still looking at the picture. "I hope I find whoever drew this."

Kairi rolled her eyes for the second time in 3 minutes. "Yeah, yeah, I hope so too lover-boy. Now come on. We have to get you home before you get into trouble again."

Kairi then grabbed Sora's arm and pulled him along with her down the beaten path. Once I was sure both of them were out of sight I came out from the bushes and went back over to the bench. I grabbed the pencil I dropped and smiled at the place where Sora had been only moments ago. 'So, we're going to be classmates. What a lucky day for me.'

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Author's note: PLEASE R+R!


	2. School of Hell

**Author's note: Yay! Chapter 2 is up. And thanks to the people who reviewed. No thanks to those who didn't. I KNOW THAT YOU READ IT SO WHY DIDN'T YOU REVIEW! Just kidding of course. So... Just gonna apologize for how crappy this is and I need opinions. Should I keep this in Strictly Naminé point of view or should I change it up a bit with Sora's or Roxas's or even Olette's? Please give me ideas. I kind of need them. O.o So yeah. Opinions please and Reviews. Now without further adieu here is the Disclaimer!**

**Olette: Lionwings owns nothing, because as previously stated if he did Kairi would be dead and I would have my swing all to myself.**

**Kairi: I didn't even do anything to you.**

**Shut up Kairi no one likes you!  
**

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Chapter 2

I walked away from the forest about five minutes later and saw Kairi and Sora talking to someone on the swing sets. I decided to walk around them and not have to worry about anything until tomorrow. I watched as Sora showed the other person the picture. I saw his lips moving to the words, "Thanks for letting me draw you." I saw the person, obviously a girl by the way she put her hands on her hips, stand up and start talking to him. I could see that she was a brunette but other than that she seemed completely ordinary.

I walked towards my house across the street. I was still watching the confrontation between the girl and Sora. Kairi just stood there and watched. They weren't arguing but seemed to be deep in discussion about something. Sora ended it by nodding and walking away with Kairi. The other girl sat there on the swing and got up. She turned and looked straight at me. She started walking and getting closer and closer. Her features started getting clearer and clearer. I could start to see her emerald eyes. I could see the way her mouth was contorted into a snarl.

'Oh crap. That's Olette!' I thought as she walked towards me angrily. She seemed to be a woman on a mission and I felt that I was the mission she had to fulfill. She stopped at the other side of the road and just stood there staring at me. It was really creepy because her face was somewhere between angry and excited. 'What kind of emotion is that, Bloodlust? Does she want to murder me?' I wondered to myself.

"Naminé, we have to talk," Olette called from across the street. Her voice was hard to read which was weird considering her obvious signs of anger in her eyes. "Now," She added.

Now I wasn't a fool. I knew that if someone wants to talk to you about something then you should probably listen. In that case, however, the best thing would have been what I did. I ran into my house and slammed the door shut.

"You think that's going to stop me Naminé? You don't know me as well as I thought you did," She yelled through the door. I cringed. I knew what was going to happen next so I ran up the stairs and into my room. I heard the door slam open downstairs and my Mom walking into the room.

"Hello Olette," She greeted kindly. "What's up?"

"Nothing Mrs. Strife, I'm just looking for Naminé," Olette replied calmly.

"She ran into the house again didn't she?" My mom asked.

"Yep and I need to talk to her."

"Well have fun."

'Thanks a lot Mom,' I thought apathetically from my room. I could hear Olette coming up the stairs, rather loudly, and stomp her feet down the hall. She was nearing my room and I could almost hear her breathing from behind the door. She was getting closer, and closer, and closer until I knew she was standing outside of my room. It was silent and I held my breath as the door handle started turning slowly. I silently went onto my bed and pulled the covers over my head. I felt so helpless that I could barely even think. The silence was enveloping the room and the door finally opened.

"Oh were oh were could Naminé be?" Olette called from the doorway. She knew where I was. She was just playing with me. I could feel her tense when her eyes hit where I was hiding. I could feel the smile coming across her face. I could almost see her step towards me and… Pounce.

I struggled at first. She pulled the covers off me and grabbed my wrists, pinning them against the bed. She started smiling evilly when I finally gave up and grimaced. "Now we can talk. Will you try and run away again if I let go?"

I shook my head. I knew when I was defeated and this was one of the times. "Good. Now I saw something interesting when I was sitting in my swing. Do you know what it was?" I was silent. "It was my cousin Sora running out of the forest with his best friend Kairi." I was totally surprised. I didn't even know that Sora was even remotely related. I gave her a look. "Shut up. You already know him."

I was confused. I held out my hand and she plopped a pen in my hand. I wrote on my hand. "How do I know him?"

"You met him at my birthday party. I introduced you but you ran away because you're so shy," She gave me a devilish smile. "Now back to what _I_ was saying. Now they showed me something very interesting. They showed me a picture of Sora sleeping underneath a tree. I thought it was a good picture. It really brought out Sora's laziness. That was when I realized that there is only one person who could be that spot on with their art. Luckily enough for you I didn't tell them anything. But you have to answer my question or I will tell them. Do you like Sora?"

I couldn't answer. I just looked at her eyes and tried not to be too obvious. I didn't want to answer because I didn't know if I did or not. I mean yes I found him attractive but I couldn't say if I liked him or not. I mean, I never even talked to him. Well I can't talk so more like have him talk to me. Olette just looked at me. More like stared at me actually. I think she was expecting an answer but… I wasn't sure what that answer was.

"Okay I get it. You don't know yet do you?" I was shocked with her perceptiveness, although I really shouldn't be because apparently I'm easier to read than a book. I nodded obviously defeated by my best friend. "Well I can help with that. I have a plan!"

The next day was the first day of school. Well for me at least. School had actually started like 2 weeks ago. My parents wanted me to switch because people always made fun of me so I applied for a scholarship and got it. I didn't mind having to switch school though. I didn't have any friends in the school and the captain of the "Whore-squad" would make up terrible rumors about me. I still have utter hatred for girls in cheerleading outfits.

I got up earlier than usual today and was afraid of what awaited me at school. I was dressed in my white dress. I had like twelve of them. Some people in my old school thought that I only had the one dress and made fun of me for it. I didn't really pay attention to those insults though; it was the other insults that got to me. I grimaced at the memories and walked over to my blue sandals. The cool plastic soothed me a little. Not much though, I was still afraid of what the day had in store for me. Olette had a plan but as it may seem, I'm not really savvy with it. She always made things much more difficult than needed.

"Naminé are you ready? Your father wants to drive you to school!" My mom called up the stairs. I could almost feel her rolling her eyes at my father.

I ran down the stairs and made sure that I had all of my art supplies in my small knapsack. I had a big case of pens and pencils hidden on my person so I could whip one out at any time I needed. People would look at me weird but I really didn't care much. I really hoped that they would be more understanding than the other school was. My father was waiting on the bottom step of the stairs and gave me a look when he saw what I was wearing. "Are you really wearing the same thing that you wear on every other day of the year for the first day of school? Why not throw on some color for once?"

My mom then proceeded to whack him on the back of the head. Have I ever mentioned I love my mom? "Cloud shut up! You look beautiful like always Naminé. Don't listen to your father," She smiled sincerely at me while my father gave me a tired look. I could tell that he was thinking about why my mom was so happy all of the time. "Now you two had better get going. I don't want Naminé to be late on her first day at a new school," She turned to me. "Make sure that if you have any problems to tell Olette right away. She'll help you."

My father grumbled and started walking towards the door. I followed suit and waved to my mom before I closed the door behind me. Cloud walked me to the car and opened the door and let me slip in before closing it and getting in on the other side. He put the key in the ignition and the car roared to life. He drove down the driveway and turned right to get to the school about a mile down the road. "Okay Naminé, I guess you know what I'm going to say right?"

I nodded. He was most likely going to talk about boys and how if I come in contact with them then I am going to burn with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns, or he was going to tell me that he made me a B.L.T. for lunch. "Well I made you a B.L.T. for lunch."

'Wow I have skills,' I thought as he handed me a brown paper bag with my name scrawled across the front. I took a peek inside and saw the sandwich along with a vanilla pudding cup and some whole milk. My dad was a culinary genius and he figured out that white was my favorite color. So he tried to make my lunches "White" with vanilla everything and white bread.

"And," I groaned. I knew this was coming. "I want you to try and talk to a boy in your class. I think it will help you with your self-esteem issues." I wasn't expecting that. "But please if you want to have a boyfriend I want to meet him. Understand?"

My face became beet red when I heard what he said. I looked away and nodded my head which signaled, "Yes I understand."

He smiled at me and slowed the car as we came up to Kingsolver High. The pale rocks of the building seemed to gleam with the crystalized quartz that was embedded deep into it. The front of the school had a façade that was made entirely of white marble and had the words, "Art is Magic," engraved above the door. I guessed that it was the school motto, which made sense considering that it was an art school. The students were sitting on the stoop of the school and were talking, playing instruments, playing games, or just staring at the sky. The grass was dark green and healthy with small gardens surrounding small concrete commons that had some benches. The biggest and most unforgettable thing I saw though had to be the gigantic fountain sitting in the front. It was made of black marble and depicted an angel, midflight, carrying a golden book. Her face was smiling as she was flying. It was an unmistakable landmark.

"Wow, this is quite impressive," Cloud whistled from beside me. "Well you had better get moving. You don't want to be late for your first day." He all but pushed me out of the car and I was left there looking desperately at the road where my dad was parked one minute earlier. I turned around and started walking timidly towards the school. I clutched my sketch pad so tightly to my chest that I was afraid I would bend the paper. I tried my best not to be noticed but most people were staring at me. It was never easy trying to blend in while wearing white. It makes you stick out like a sore thumb. In retrospect I don't know why I always wore white. I liked blending into the background but I guess because it was my favorite color I did it to stay comfortable and safe.

"Who is that," some boy whispered to the girl next to him.

"I don't know. I know she's new. She is way to pretty to not have been noticed," The girl whispered back making me blush.

I walked a little faster towards the school, hoping that Olette would be close so I could latch onto her. As soon as I was in the school, I saw a brunette hairdo walking by and assumed it was her because it was the same color. I ran to it only to find the one person I didn't want to see. It was Sora smiling in all of his beautiful glory. I stopped and swerved to the left in an attempt to get around him but just as I moved he turned and I crashed right into him.

I looked at the awkward situation and assessed it to be a failed attempt at a first impression. I knew that the whole school would label me a klutz. I really just wanted to get out of there. "Sorry that was my bad. Are you okay? I should have watched where I was going," Sora was already up and held out his hand for me to use. I nodded and took the hand. He smiled and pulled me to my feet. I looked around. No one was staring at me. No one was whispering or talking about me. For once I was totally ignored by the people around me. In fact some people were talking about how Sora is always causing people to fall. I felt a little better. Sora was still staring at me. "So are you new here? I don't remember seeing you around here."

I nodded absentmindedly and looked at my watch. Class started in five minutes. I walked away quickly and ignored the odd stare I got from Sora. I got to my first class of the day. I looked at my schedule and saw that it was English with Ms. Maleficent. I took a breath and walked into the classroom. The teacher had already started class and I realized that I was late. She looked at me and seemed to be staring into my soul. It was really creepy.

"Ah, you must be our new student. Miss Naminé Strife? Correct?" The teacher looked at me. I saw her dark hair strapped back into a long ponytail and her skin was an odd pale color that resembled a shade of sea foam green. "I am your teacher Ms. Maleficent. But you may call me Ms. M," She gave me a smile that I deducted to be genuine even though she spoke with an underlying tone that worried me. "You may have a seat in the back next to Roxas. Roxas please stand so she knows who you are."

A boy in the third row stood up. He was slim with skin almost as pale as mine. It had a bit of color in it unlike my pale colorless pigment. His blond hair stood on end. The most noticeably dominate feature though had to be his eyes. They were pools of clear blue water. They stared at me with intensity and kindness at the same time. 'They aren't unlike Sora's eyes actually,' I thought as I walked by the other kids towards my new desk. Their heads turned as I walked by. Every eye in the room followed me including Roxas's eyes. I felt a little embarrassed but finally got to my seat and sat down. As soon as I was in my seat all of the other teens looked back at the board, except Roxas. He continued to stare at me. His blue orbs were gazing at me rather entrancedly.

Ms. Maleficent spent the time saying that she would only do a 30 minute lesson and allow talking for the other 10 minutes. Not that I cared. I couldn't talk. I was always amazed at the things I could pick fun at. My insults were generally more self-serving than they needed to be. She spoke for 34 minutes more and finally stopped, fulfilling her promise. I sat there and stared at her desk.

"Hey. I didn't get to introduce myself earlier," Roxas spoke from beside me. I turned to him and saw a smile playing across his features. "My name is Roxas," He held out his hand and I took it, happy someone would try and talk to me. "You're Naminé right?"

I nodded and gave him a small smile. "What school did you transfer from?" He asked me kindly. I could sense the small talk coming. I grabbed a pad of paper and wrote, "Solstice High," and handed it to him. He looked at me strangely and opened the note. "You went to Solstice huh? Well I can understand why you transferred. And you do know you're allowed to talk right? Ms. Maleficent doesn't care for the last ten minutes."

I shook my head. 'I should probably tell him now so he doesn't make the wrong assumption.' I grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled furiously on it but before I could give to him the bell rang.

"Well I'll see you later. I hope you'll actually talk the next time though," He smiled and walked out of the room. I looked after him and decided that my life sucks.

'Damn. I hope I have a class with him later so I can tell him. I don't want to have a bad first day,' I thought as I walked to the door and headed to my next class which was, according to my schedule, Art. I was instantly excited. I had been waiting for that class. I could finally have someone to show my pictures to. I walked down the hall and caught sight of Olette (For real this time.) I waved at her and she pushed through the people in the hall. She had an excited look on her face.

"So how was first period?" She asked with her voice filled with curiosity. "Is there anyone special in it?"

I nodded and signaled that I would tell her later so I wouldn't be late to art. She smiled mischievously and agreed. I didn't like the look of that smile but ignored it for my own sake. I walked to my art class and was again late. 'This school is just too confusing.' I knocked on the classroom door so I wouldn't disturb anyone. The teacher walked to the door and opened it.

"Hello you must be Miss Strife!" She announced to me. Her voice was kind but was very loud. "I'm Ms. Kurosaki but you can call me Yuffie. Everyone does."

She led me into the room and introduced me to the class. "Everyone this is our new student Naminé. She just transferred here from Solstice high on an art scholarship. So I hope you will all welcome another artist to the class," the students started applauding. "Okay everyone get back to work. Naminé you can take the open seat next to Sora."

When I heard the name my heart stopped. 'Sora is in my art class? Damn and I thought I was going to be home free for art,' I thought as once again everyone watched me as I went to my seat. Again every eye was glued to me until I sat down. Sora was staring at me just like Roxas was, except I knew that Sora would have something more to say than small talk.

"Hey, you're that girl that I ran into earlier! I'm sorry about that," he scratched the back of his neck. "Let's be properly introduced this time. My name is Sora," he smiled and held out his hand. I smiled back and took it gripping it lightly so I wouldn't seem overly impetuous. He smiled again and I could sense that he didn't frown a lot. "So your name is Naminé? That's a really pretty name I have to say."

I smiled back with a little blush on my cheeks. "So you're an artist right? Wait that was a stupid question, you got in on an art scholarship. You could probably paint circles around me. So are you excited to be here?" I nodded again. "Are you shy? You haven't said a word since you've been in here."

My smile dropped. I really didn't want to explain it to him but I was stuck. The class still had 10 minutes left and I couldn't ignore him for that long. I took in a deep breath and pulled out my note pad and a pen that was hidden somewhere (I'm not telling where, I like to keep some secrets.) I wrote the three words I hated writing. The three words I had to write every time I met someone new. "I am mute."

I handed him the paper, which was folded into eighths so he would get board before reading the words. It didn't work of course but I tried. He slowly opened it and read the three words. I grimaced and sighed. I could almost see the disgusted look on his face when he found out. He would have looked at me like I was defective and ask to move to a different seat.

"Well why didn't you tell me that earlier?" He replied to the note. I just looked at him. I didn't expect that. Of course the day was filled with things I didn't expect. I felt like thinking, 'I didn't expect that,' was all I did. "I really don't care if you're mute or not. It's the person on the inside that really matters."

He smiled again in a way that made my heart almost melt. He really was different from all of the other boys. I didn't expect anything to that aspect. Again being a normal occurrence that I didn't pick up on. "So have any friends here yet?"

I took another sheet of paper and wrote, "Yes. My best friend Olette comes here."

I handed it to him and he looked slightly amused. "Olette is my cousin. We don't talk much though. Normally she just hits me and walks away like she did yesterday. I mean all I did was show her a picture and then she got all pissed and said something like, 'I'm gonna kill that girl!' She has a bit of an anger problem."

I nodded in agreement. Olette really did need an anger adjustment. He smiled again and I smiled back. It was very infectious.

DING! The bell went off and everyone began packing their bags.

"It was nice talking to you. I hope we can become good friends," Sora beamed at me and walked off. I returned his gaze and walked out of the classroom looking for signs of another brunette that wants constant updates.

* * *

**Author's note: I originally had it so Sora found the notebook and recognized it but then realized that the story would move too fast if I did it. So again I beg that you review. They give me the strength to go on. And thanks to those who reviewed already. Thank you Rith, Hitsugaysgirl, Christopher Scott, and Your fellow Ezhomoyucy aka Ambiguous Rose. Please take their example of awesomeness and review. Pretty Please?**


	3. Sora's interlude

**Authors Note: Hey y'all! I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I've been having some second thoughts about doing this chapter in Sora's Point of view for the whole time. Don't worry. Naminé will be back by the next chapter. I would like to thank the reviewers again. Especially Alacquiene. Thank you for the message and tips on writing. Also another shout out to my friend E.A. Sports (Sorry. I forgot your pen name so I decided to use your nickname to keep your name off of the internet.) I am still new at this. And to answer some of the questions brought up by another reviewer... Naminé's Mother is (probably) Aerith. The Pairings for this are still under development but I can tell you this is going to be a Naminé X Sora. There will be other complications but that will be the basis of it. 'Kay? Good. Now review and if you please I have a question for you, the Readers and the Reviewers. You can read it after the chapter. I don't want to ruin some of the surprises. Now TIME FOR THE DISCLAIMER!**

**Sora: Lionwings owns nothing. Although, as previously stated, if he did Kairi would be rotting somewhere. **

**Damn right!**

**Kairi: If you hate me so much why did you even put me in this story?**

**You know why! I'm going to make your life hell!  
**

* * *

Chapter 3

Sora's Point of View

I watched her skip out of the room with a smile on her face. I didn't know what to think. One minute she was dark and brooding, and the next she was light and happy. I could feel it in the way she looked at me that she wasn't going to be the normal teenage girl. Her silver-blond hair was sweeping back and forth; it was really cute. I couldn't keep my eyes off of her, even though I knew it was kind of creepy.

"Sora, come on! We have to get you to third period!" Kairi yelled at me. She was always yelling. I think that Olette finally said something right when she told me all Kairi did was yell.

"All right, All right, don't get your panties in a bunch," I replied. "I know I have to go."

She gave me a look but I ignored it. As Kairi started walking away, I followed behind her, thinking about that girl, Naminé. She seemed so… different. Not just because she was mute either. That was the least of it. Maybe it was because of her eyes or the way she smiled-maybe that was the reason why I felt that way. I knew then and there that something was happening. I could feel in it my heart.

"Kairi, what do you know about that new girl?" I asked. She turned to me and raised an eyebrow. "You know… the blond one that I ran into today?"

"What about her?" She responded furiously.

I was a little confused. Why was Kairi mad? Did I do something wrong? "Do you know anything about why she came here? Or who her boyfriend is?"

'Did I really just ask that last one?' I thought panicking. It wasn't really normal to ask if someone knew who someone else went out with before he or she changed schools. It wasn't normal… but I still wanted to know.

"Well Sora seems to have fallen hard for the new girl," Kairi grinned. "I don't know anything myself but I can try and find some things from my resources. Do you know what school she went to? I need at least that much information. If you don't have it I'll have to text each of my informants individually. It wouldn't be much of a problem. But still, it would make my fingers fall off."

Kairi was looking at me like I knew what school she came from. I didn't know. 'She did say something about being friends with Olette though. Is she that girl who lives next door to her?' I scratched my head. 'Well, if she does live next door, then she probably went to Solstice. I mean it is like, right down the street.'

"Thinking too hard there, Sora? Do you remember what happened the last time? When you fell over and hurt yourself," She was smiling, looking as though she was trying hard not to laugh. It didn't work.

"Shut up, Kairi! Try your 'Connections' at Solstice High. I made a guess-I think the guess is right," I rubbed the back of my neck and smiled sheepishly.

"Okay, okay! Don't get 'your panties in a bunch.' I'll try Selphie. She's the queen bee at Solstice." Kairi whipped out her phone and started texting away on it. I never understood how girls were so good at texting. I wasn't half bad myself, but still, I was limited to at most 50 words a minute.

I looked at the clock and waved to Kairi. "I'll tell you what I found after 4th. Talk to you later!" Kairi replied to the wave and walked to her Global Studies class.

I looked around the halls as I silently walked to Math. 'Why is she still in my head? I mean seriously. I haven't even known her a full day and I'm already flustered around her. I'm surprised she hasn't noticed yet,' I thought.

That thought made me stop, mid-step, right in front of the Math room. "What if she did notice?" I asked myself aloud.

But before I could answer myself the teacher saw me and pulled me into the classroom. "Sora you should sit down. We have a new student today and I have to introduce her to the class. You should probably be in attendance, especially because the only open seat is next to yours."

I could just guess who the new student was. Just my luck, two times in one day. What in Hell's name made me that…? Wait. Would that have been lucky? Or was it unlucky? I could barely understand what the answer could be. Did I want to see her or did I not want to see her?

"Hello class! Today we have a new student. Her name is Naminé," And directly on cue Naminé walked in the door giving a shy look to the students staring at her. "I hope you will all treat her kindly and that no one will do anything that I might have to hit them with a ruler for doing."

"Yes Miss Ursula," We, the class, replied back to her.

Miss Ursula smiled. "Good. Now Naminé your seat is the empty one right next to Sora. Sora can you be a dear and stand so she knows who you are?"

I sucked in a breath and stood. She was staring at me. I wasn't sure what to think about the stare either. Was it an angry stare or a sad stare or even an elated stare? I didn't know. Naminé seemed to be good at hiding her emotions. I guess that sounds stupid in retrospect, especially considering that is half of the way she communicates with people. Well anyways, she started walking towards me and the heads of all of the teens in the room turned while she walked. Once she sat down all of their heads snapped back to the teacher. I sat down after her and gave a playful smile.

"Well, well. We meet again," I smiled at her. She just blushed a bit in response. "So how do you like the school so far?"

'Well, I guess small talk is going to have to work for now,' I thought as she started scribbling on her notepad.

She smiled and handed me a piece of paper. It was folded into eights. She seemed to do that a lot. I unfolded it and read, "I'm enjoying myself. The people here are so kind compared to the people at the school I came from."

"What do you mean 'Compared to the people at the school I came from'?" I asked rather loudly earning myself a glare from Ms. Ursula. Naminé gave me an understanding look. I didn't know why. I didn't say anything that could have any sort of understanding to it. That was, at least, until I realized that she was giving me that look for the glare I got from Ms. Ursula. 'Sometimes I'm such an idiot,' I thought hopelessly.

She scribbled on another piece of paper and handed it to me. I was surprised-I thought that she wouldn't answer the question. It _was_ pretty personal. I unfolded it and read (again), "Let's just say I hate cheerleaders and their 'Whore-squads.'"

I laughed out loud. Everyone in the room seemed completely unfazed by my laughter, though. I was the loudest kid in the class and I laughed a lot. Ms. Ursula glared at me again and gave me that, "One more time and I will PERSONALLY kill you," look. I heeded this warning. She could be really, really scary for a teacher. So I flipped over the paper and wrote, in my own messy handwriting, "Whore-squad? Is that a reference to something?" and handed it back to her. I shot her a smile to tell her it was a joke.

She opened the sheet and skimmed it with her eyes. Instead of the smile that I expected to see, there was a pained look. I guess I might have struck a nerve or something. She turned her head from the paper and looked at me, shooting a smile. I smiled back as she wrote another note on the small sheet of paper. "Don't worry about it. I don't have to deal with them anymore. Especially because of all of the new friends I made today."

I was surprised by this. I wasn't totally sure what she meant by that. I grabbed another sheet of paper from the notebook on my desk and wrote, "Am I one of them?"

I slid it to her awaiting her reaction. She looked over to me and when she saw the anxious look I was giving, she made her face emotionless. God, she was cruel. She scribbled on the paper, emotionlessly, handed it to me, still without emotion, and waited for my response.

I opened the paper and read, "Maybe. But only if you want to be! =P"

I smiled and her blank face beamed at me, softening. "Of course I want to be your friend," I replied aloud, forgetting about Ms. Ursula's warning.

"SORA! I TOLD YOU TO STOP TALKING!" Ms. Ursula yelled at me. I winced and stared at my desk. "See me after class for your punishment! Right, my Poopsies?" Ms. Ursula asked her goldfish that were sitting in the bowl on her desk. She stroked the glass and glared at me again. I could tell she was planning something evil for me to be tortured with. I frowned and turned to the worksheet on my desk. I knew she was evil because it was a pop-quiz on the history of the Pythagorean Theorem. It took up the duration of the class.

I glanced at the clock and saw the time was up. The bell rang and the classroom emptied out quickly. Naminé gave me a quick glance before walking out the door. I waved her on and she nodded.

After everyone was gone, Ms. Ursula closed the door and locked it. "Uh… Ms. Ursula, why did you close the door?" She smirked at me and walked over to the windows. She pulled on the rope and closed the blinds. Like an idiot I asked, "Ms. Ursula… why did you close the blinds?"

She smirked again and walked over to her desk. She opened a drawer and pulled out a ruler, but not just any ruler. It was her, "I'm going to beat you with this if you don't do what I say" ruler. My eyes widened. My breathing accelerated. My heart was pounding. She was laughing, cackling actually, at me.

"I think you know what I am going to ask you to do," She stated evilly as she prowled her way to my desk. She finally got me to crack. She was waiting for me to slip up for a while and I had to pay for it. "My punishment for you is…"

'God please have mercy on me. I know I've been dancing through life on a whim but please let me survive through this ordeal…' I prayed silently as I awaited my punishment.

"…TO CLEAN MY FISH TANK!" She yelled in triumph.

"NO! ANYTHING BUT THAT!" I screamed as I fell from the desk onto my knees. I gazed toward said fish tank and saw that it was covered in green slime-it was almost impossible to see through. She had placed a toothbrush next to it to show the students what they would have to clean the fish tank with. It was covered with almost as much green slime as the fish tank.

"I'm sorry Sora, but this is your punishment. Besides Flotsam and Jetsam want to get out of that little fish bowl. Aren't I right my little Poopsies?" She hurried back to her desk and started fawning over her fish again. "I expect you to be here directly after school. No excuses. Now I'll give you a pass so you can get to your next period," She smiled sweetly at me, handing me a small pink slip of paper.

'I really hate you, Ms. Ursula,' I thought as I rolled my eyes. "Thanks Ms. Ursula," I said aloud, keeping my thoughts inside my head. I walked out of the room and headed to my next class which was conveniently right down the hall from Math. Hopefully I wouldn't have it with Naminé, so I didn't have to see her apologetic stare. I didn't want her life to be any more troubled, especially after seeing her expression about the "Whore-squad."

I entered the classroom and saw, to my pleasure, that Naminé wasn't in this class. I did see that the seats have been changed though. The music teacher, Mr. Oogie, waved me over to his desk. "Hello Sora. I just wanted to tell you that we changed seats today. You will be sitting next to Olette." He smiled at me and pointed me to the seat. I walked over and plopped down in it.

"Hey cuz, what's up?" I asked Olette nonchalantly. "Is there anything new in the life of Olette?"

She sighed and looked over at me. "No there isn't. Now can you leave me alone? I have some music to compose."

I suppose that was the proper response. This was Music Composition class; luckily Mr. Oogie didn't care about talking. He believed that talking was just a type of music that is always improvised. "Well anyway, I wanted to ask you something about your friend," Her ears perked up. "Naminé is your friend, right?"

She was smiling like she had some sort of inside information that she didn't want me to know. "Yes she is my friend. My best friend actually. What do you want to know about her? I'll tell you whatever you want as long as I didn't promise to not tell anyone before. You are my favorite and only cousin after all," She grinned at me.

"What is the 'Whore-squad'?" I asked cautiously.

Olette went stiff. "Did Naminé tell you about that? She must have if you know the term," I nodded in response. "Okay, well luckily enough for you Nami didn't make me swear not to tell anyone so you had better listen," I nodded again and waited for her story.

"Well back when Nami went to Solstice, she didn't have many friends. In fact she only had two, if I recall correctly. Their names were Aqua and Ventus. They really aren't that important to the story, though. Well Nami was made fun of a lot back when she was at Solstice. A lot of people made fun of her, but the worst were the cheerleaders... They wouldn't stop. They were cruel, merciless, and were complete whores, thus the creating of the name, 'Whore-squad.' The only person on the squad that didn't make fun of her was Aqua, who spoke out against their cruelty towards Naminé on a regular basis. The cheerleading captain was a girl named Selphie. She was jealous of Naminé because she liked Ventus and Ventus had a crush on Naminé. So Selphie did everything in her power to turn the whole school against Naminé and spread rumors about Naminé that were so horrible, I really don't want to talk about them."

"It is okay, Olette. You don't have to," I answered.

"Hey do you want me to finish the story or not?" She asked curtly when I interrupted her. I nodded my head. "Good. Now shut up."

"Where was I? Oh yeah. Well, Selphie was spreading rumors and Ventus and Aqua were trying very hard to stop them. One day, though, they didn't show up for school and Selphie took it as a chance to get Naminé once and for all. She had everyone in the school that was under her control, which I might add is a very, very large group of people, make fun of Naminé relentlessly. Even some of the teachers joined in! They were the ones who were too stupid to understand that it wasn't picking fun at someone but was actually destroying someone from the inside out. When Ventus and Aqua came in after second period they found Naminé under the stairs crying her eyes out. When they tried to comfort her, she pushed them away and told them they didn't deserve a friend as terrible and as dirty as she was. They tried multiple times during the day to help her… but she would always tell them the same thing. She didn't even write a separate note. She just showed them the same one over and over," Olette finished solemnly. She looked at me and I could see the tears in her eyes.

"Naminé must have had quite a rough life," I stated. Olette gave me an almost amused look.

"That wasn't even the half of it! Naminé had to take off about a week of school and was in intense psychological therapy for weeks. Luckily, I lived next door when her family moved into their new home and became friends with her. If I didn't… I don't know what would have happened," Olette smiled grimly.

"How long ago was this?" I asked.

"It was right before summer break. The reason Naminé didn't start here until today was because her scholarship didn't come through until this weekend. She was at Solstice for about 10 days. She still won't tell me about what happened before she left," Olette shuddered at the thought.

I looked at the clock on the wall. The period was just about over, and Olette was back to working on her music. I pulled out my notebook and decided to look at the picture again. I didn't know why, but it was really precious to me. It was a beautiful picture of me sleeping underneath a tree. I remembered what Olette had said to me when I showed it to her in the park. "Someone really special must have drawn that for you." That was what she had said before mumbling, "I'm gonna kill that girl." Then she punched me in the arm… but that was beside the point.

I flipped over the portrait and glanced at the neat cursive letters. "Thanks for letting me draw you," I read. I looked at the letters themselves. They seemed oddly familiar. On a hunch, I grabbed the note that Naminé and I were passing and compared the lettering… They were exactly the same.

"Hey Olette," I piped up.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Was the girl you said you were going to kill yesterday Naminé?" I asked.

She stared at me and pondered for a moment. It looked like she was debating whether to kill me or to tell me the truth. "I don't know what you're talking about," She finally replied. So like the rational person I am, I showed her the facts. I pulled out my note from Naminé, and the back of the picture.

"Isn't the handwriting exactly the same?" I asked angrily.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask Naminé? She would give you the answer if you asked," Olette suggested, smirking darkly.

"I think I will," I retorted. 'I really hope Naminé will tell the truth.'

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**Author's note: Okay now time for the question. I hope you read the chapter...**

**Should I make some of the Solstice students transfer to Kingsolver High or should I just keep them where they are and still make them a powerful enemy for Naminé? I don't know but I kind of want Aqua, Ventus and Selphie have better roles in this. But it would be odd if all three of them transferred to the same school.**

**Okay well now that's over do me a favor and:**

**REVIEW! PLEASE?  
**


	4. Poems and Snakes

**Author's note: Okay so here is the deal. This chapter is a wee bit suckish. I had to add some filler for no reason. I could have just told you what Naminé experienced in fourth and fifth period later, but I decided against it. Okay... yeah... So anyways, as per the question that was posted by a longtime reviewer Rith, Naminé didn't make the connection between Roxas and Ven for a reason. What that reason is will be better explained in the next chapter. But for now I'm keeping you all in the dark. I apologize right now for the crappy chapter, and also don't be like my friend who beta-read this and think that the part with Roxas is... well you'll find out... Oh and maybe me actually saying so will help but I try to only post when I get about four reviews on a chapter, but lately that hasn't really been the case. So if you can just review it. It won't kill you. But I might. O.o! And remember I accept any kind of review. Be it Flame or fluff, I dont' care.**

**Roxas: Lionwings owns nothing, Kairi will be killed, blah, blah, blah. Seriously? Do we have to do this everytime? It's getting really annoying.**

**Sora: Tell me about it.**

**Kairi: Why do you hate me?**

**Shut up Kairi!  
**

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Chapter 4

I felt really guilty- as though I had caused someone pain and torture. I was never going to take away the pain. Poor Sora, he had to deal with the punishment that I caused him. I was completely and utterly sorry about it. I was always causing people pain, and that was the epitome of it. I caused him pain, embarrassment, and possibly a long detention with Miss Ursula.

"Hey, Naminé!" A voice broke me from my thinking. I turned to look at where the voice was coming from and saw a spikey blond haired boy running at me from down the hall. I smiled and waved when he started slowing down and finally slowed to a meander beside me. "Hey. Remember me?"

I smiled at him but kept walking. I wasn't sure what to do. I mean, I wasn't able to tell him about me being mute so I didn't know what to do at that point. It might have seemed terribly rude of me but I ignored him for the most part. He was still walking next to me, which made me wonder if we were in the same class together. "Still giving me the silent treatment, eh? Well I still find you interesting even though you're completely ignoring me," He beamed at me. I couldn't understand why he was being so nice. If I was him I would have already gone and ditched me, but he persistently stayed by my side. I pulled out my schedule and checked my next class.

'Poetry, when did I sign up for a poetry class?' I thought as I neared the classroom. Roxas was still following me, a fact that I found a little creepy. Weirdly enough, however, it seemed normal. Like this always happened before... I shrugged off the feeling and started to open the door, but Roxas grabbed the handle before I did and pulled the door open in a gentlemanly way. I nodded a thank you with a smile and walked into the room. He followed me and closed the door behind him. The teacher was sitting at her desk reading what looked like a romance novel. Her head popped up when she heard the door click closed and turned her head to me. Her blue eyes stared me down kindly. She had deep crimson hair and seemed to be very young for a teacher.

She smiled walking over to me. "Hello, you must be my new student. I'm Miss Triton. But just call me Ariel. Miss Triton makes me feel old," She smiled happily at me and held out her hand. I took it and shook it like any normal person would. Her smile widened. "Okay everyone, this is Naminé. She is our new student for the rest of the year. I think you all know what that means!"

My eyes became wide after I heard they expected me to do something. I didn't even want to do anything. I just wanted to glide through the day and not have to try until tomorrow. Ariel turned from the class to me. "Don't worry. I just need you to write a poem about yourself. Now go to your seat and start writing. I'll call you up when I deem you ready," She smiled sweetly at me and I couldn't help but smile back. Her smile reminded me of Sora's. It was infectious and hard to resist. "Now as for your seat… The only available one is next to Roxas. So, you can sit there!"

I nodded again and walked to the seat next to Roxas. Everyone was staring again, but I was used to it by that point. It happened every class. When I finally sat down, they all turned back to their conversations. I pulled out a sheet of paper and began writing my poem. 'I really hope she doesn't expect me to read this,' I thought stupidly. 'Do the teachers even know I'm mute? From what I can tell, they are about as clueless as the students. Weird, you'd think someone would have sent a memo around the school telling all of the teachers about my disability.'

Roxas was staring at me again but I was busily working on my poem. I didn't want to make a bad impression on the teacher. After all, it was the first day. So, I poured my soul into the poem. I decided that I would just bring it all out. I would tell them that I was mute then. If I was going to be mocked for this it might as well have been in front of this small class rather than in English the next day. Ariel was looking at me scribbling away on the paper. I could see the smile on her face and every time I looked up she would smile wider and tap her wrist. I knew what that meant; I was almost finished anyway. It wasn't the best thing I've ever written but no one would care anyway.

"Okay Naminé, it's time for you to present your poem to the class," Ariel finally called out after about twenty minutes. I nodded and scribbled a note onto a separate piece of paper, then walked up to the front of the room. She gave me a curious look when I handed her the note. Her smile fell for a moment as she read, and she looked at me apologetically.

I motioned to her as to say, "Can you do the honors?"

She smiled and said, "Of course I can. Okay, students, there will be a bit of a change today. I am going to be reading Naminé's poem for her."

The students looked at Ariel, but she just smiled at them knowingly. She grabbed a seat from an empty table and set it down in front of the chalkboard in the front of the room. She patted it and I sat down, earning me some odd stares from the 12 or so students sitting in the room. Roxas's stare was one of those. I didn't know what his meant. The others were clearly outrage or confusion. Roxas's wasn't either- his was something completely different. For some reason he began to look really familiar to me. It was the look on his face and the stare in his eyes. Something was there, but what?

Ariel clapped her hands, surprising the whole class. "Okay, I'm going to start reading! Ahem,

"_From days away alone, by myself, sitting in silence,_

_I cannot speak a word in my lifetime._

_Only as I can one day dream in the dark,_

_As the world continues to spin on its axis._

_Days will continue without me,_

_As I feel myself slipping away._

_The words I must speak with absolute confidence,_

_Even though I have no voice of my own._

_I must speak through others just to say my own words,_

'_I cannot speak.'_"

Ariel finished the poem. Her voice almost felt as though it was trapped inside the room. It felt that the refrain of the poem was echoing throughout the place. The students sat in silence, staring at me. I felt as though I didn't belong; they were watching me. Waiting for me to make a move I would never make, and I found I was waiting for the same thing. I was waiting for their reaction to this news. They didn't respond; mostly all of them were still staring. Then a sound reverberated through the room. I looked for the source and saw Roxas sitting in his seat. He was clapping loudly.

Soon after, the other teens softened their expressions and joined in on the clapping. Their hard façades melted away, and I found I was looking at an entirely different group of teenagers. I would have never expected that kind of response. Normally teenagers are petty and enjoy making fun of others just for being different- yet my poem had changed these people.

"Well, Naminé, I think that you're more accepted than you thought," Ariel stated as the teenagers finally stopped applauding and sat back down in their seats. "And remember, if you ever need anyone to talk to I'm always available for talking. I was mute for a few years. Mostly from choice… but still. I understand how the whole mute thing works."

I smiled back at her, conveying my thanks. She patted me on the back and jabbed her head toward my seat signaling to go back. I obliged and sat back down to Roxas. He was still quietly staring at me and again it didn't bother me as much as I thought. "So you're mute," Roxas finally said after an awkward silence. "I should have expected that. I'm sorry if I was acting bratty any time I talked to you." I could see the guilt written across his face. "I must have seemed like such a jerk asking you all that time to talk to me even though you can't. If you never want to speak to me again I would under-"

I cut him off by placing my finger on his lips. I pulled out a piece of paper and wrote, with one of my many hidden pencils, "Don't worry about it. You didn't know."

He read it and gave me another apologetic look. "But I-"

I cut him off with a glare. I'm pretty sure he knew what I meant by it. By his response I knew he got what I was communicating. He was about to say something again when the bell rang overhead. I sighed in relief and grabbed my things. When I started walking to the door, Roxas followed me and held the door for me again. I smiled at his gentlemanliness and began heading to my next period.

'What else can I expect from this horrible school day?' I thought to myself. 'First was it was Sora, then it was Roxas. I swear those two follow each other like shadows follow the sun. What is my next trial?'

It turns out my next trial was Social Studies. It was admittedly never my favorite class, but as I walked down the hall, I had some hope for it. I mean, it was a new school. Maybe there would be a teacher who was interesting when they taught about old, dead people. I walked from Poetry class alone, because Roxas needed to go to the other side of the school, and opened the door to the Social Studies room. I looked at the desk that was directly in front of the students and saw the teacher. He was tall and very skinny. His face was rather long and he had a bit of a scraggly beard on his chin. He held in one hand a cane that was in the shape of a gigantic snake, probably a cobra by the looks of it.

"Hello. May I help you?" He asked with an irritated tone. He gave me a once over and his mouth curved up into a dark smile. "Wait, you must be the new victim- I mean, student…"

I gulped audibly and nodded my head slowly. His gaze followed me, and he swayed his body in the same way a cobra would imitate its prey. I tried the nice approach and smiled, despite what he had just said about me being the next victim. I didn't want to know what he was talking about. He smiled at me again, still with a dark glint of mischievousness in them. I avoided his eyes. He then proceeded to wave me over towards his desk and, like the helpless puppy I was in this particular equation, I obeyed.

"Okay class. This is our new student Naminé. I hope you slack jawed idiots don't drag her down to your level of stupidity. As far as I can see, she has a great grade point average. If anything happens to it, it will be on your heads! Especially yours, Riku!"

A silver head popped up from the rest of the crowd. "Why would it be my fault?" The silver headed boy asked. "I'm your best student in this class!"

"That's saying something! You are correct Riku. You _are_ the best student in this class with an average of 96 but still, I don't like you," The teacher, Mr. Jafar from what I read of the golden name plate on his desk, admitted rather loudly. He turned to me and gave me yet another creepy smile. "I am quite sorry my dear, but the only seat available is next to Riku. I really hope you don't mind having to deal with him. If he gives you any problems, then just give me a holler."

I nodded and turned to my seat. I walked down the rows and recognized many of the faces from my past classes. Unlike all of the other classes I had that day, no heads turned as I went by. Finally! I wasn't being watched like a deer in the middle of a street. I was relieved when the only person looking at me was this "Riku" kid. I mean, as of then, he was the only kid I didn't have a class with. I sat down and prepared for the worst. I stared at the board and saw the words, "New Student Today" plastered across it. I blushed and looked down at my notebook.

"This is all we're going to do today," Riku said from next to me. "Mr. Jafar has been very excited about having a new face in the class. He hates most of us in this class, even though some of us are honors students. My overall average is a 94.9, for God's sake! Well anyway. I'm Riku. Pleasure to meet you Naminé," He extended his hand and I took it. "Olette has told me some about you."

My eyes widened. I didn't expect to meet a friend of Olette's. I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote, "Then you probably know why I'm writing this note, huh?" I passed it to him and he smiled when he read it. He turned to me, giving me a heart-warming smile. 'Does anyone in this school _not_ have an attractive smile?' I thought helplessly, then thoughts of Mr. Jafar's smile and shuddered.

Riku saw me and chuckled, "Thinking of Mr. Jafar's smile, aren't you?" How the hell did he know that? "And yes, Olette has told me that you are mute. She also told me another couple things about you."

My mouth dropped. 'She wouldn't,' I thought, a horrible feeling spreading through me.

"Like your crush on a certain brunette boy," Riku smiled.

'She would,' I dropped my head onto my desk, making an appropriate 'knock', and repeated the action several times. 'I'm gonna get her back one of these days. Just you wait Olette! Once I find out your crush, I'll tell all of my friends. But wait for that to work, I need to make friends… Damn, I didn't see that hole coming.'

Riku was looking at my facial expressions with an amused look. Almost as if he could read my mind… and as far as I knew, he actually could. I mean he did guess about the thing about Mr. Jafar's smile. He did have a strange… aura? (Yeah, aura works.) I couldn't read him as well as I could with Olette, Sora, or even Roxas. Normally when I meet someone, I can get some sort of reading on what kind of person they are just by reacting with them, but Riku was different. Not different like Sora, but different like someone that I would be able to be best friends with.

"Don't worry, I won't tell Sora anything. I may be a "Terrible Student," but I am anything but a snitch. Unless, of course, you _want_ me to tell him?" He asked with a bit of sarcastic venom in his voice, again bringing me back to Jafar. (Why I made so many innuendos to snakes in reference of him I will never know.) I shook my head. If I wanted Sora to know I liked him, I would have told him already. Why didn't people understand that?

I took a piece of paper out from my pocket and wrote, "If I wanted Sora to know I liked him, I would have told him already!"

Riku smirked at the comment. "We know that. That's part of the reason why Olette wanted me to meet you. I'm supposed to help you in some way or another… Olette can be very cryptic when she wants to be."

'Oh God, he's referring to Olette's plan. Crap! I should have known that she'd do this to me,' I stared at Riku for a moment. Sure he was handsome, but was he good enough for a fake date? No. No, he wasn't.

Let me explain. Olette's plan consisted of three parts: Part One was the meeting. Meaning how I would meet Sora. Part Two was called the secret-slip up. I was supposed to give Sora a note; so he could recognize my handwriting and compare it to the note on the back of the picture I gave him. Finally, was Part Three. Part Three consisted of Sora asking me about the picture and me telling him about it. He would get excited and ask me out on a date. (All of this was imagined by Olette. I was 99% sure it would never work.) Then I would tell him that I already have a date with –insert name here- and have him become really jealous. He would then fight for my honor and win, eventually going out with me. Let's just say Olette's plans suck.

I pulled out another sheet of paper and wrote, "That won't be necessary. I already told Olette to let nature take its course. If Sora wants to go out with me, then he can ask on his own accord."

Riku read the note and laughed. "Olette is not the kind of person to give up on such an elaborately made plan. She told me about all three parts, and for as long as I've known Sora, which is a long time, he would do all of those things. All the way down to the fighting for your honor part. Sora is very, very old fashioned."

I rolled my eyes at him. I really hoped he took that as, "Olette is ridiculous," and not as, "Sora is ridiculous."

"Yeah I know Olette is ridiculous, but you gotta love her spirit," he replied. Damn! He was good at that.

The bell rang. "Well, I'll see you later, Naminé. It was nice chatting with you," Riku got up and walked away.

'What a strange boy,' I thought as I went to my next class. 'Now let's see… next on the list is lunch. I might get to see Olette and talk to her about today.'

I walked towards the lunchroom and saw a mop of chocolate brown, gravity defying hair coming towards me from the left. I deducted that Sora was heading to lunch too, at least until he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the empty classroom next to the lunchroom. I tried to see the look on his face but he kept it pointed away from me. I was really confused.

Once we were in the room Sora turned to me. I could see his forehead was creased and his lips were pursed... Otherwise known as, he was thinking. Again, I was really confused. I allowed it to be shown on my face as I looked at Sora, to try and show him how I was feeling. He saw my expression and gave me a good look over. It was creepy, but I didn't mind. It _was_ Sora who was looking me over.

"Naminé, I have a question for you," He said after a few minutes of silently staring at me.

I gave him a bob of the head that meant, "Shoot."

"Did you draw this picture of me?"

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**Author's note: Okay now here is a bit of an extended ending that my friend found appropriate to write while beta reading. I really like the spoof takes at the end of the movie and that's what this is. This is not the actual ending to this chapter/series. I'm just putting it out there for fun. This all happens after Sora asks Naminé his question:**

**"Yes," I replied shakily, noting to myself that I can miraculously can talk.**

**Then he pulled me down and we had sex. THE END!**

**... God I hate my friends. Okay so Yeah. Read and Review...  
**


	5. Great, A falling bookshelf Cliche

**Author's note: Okay another chapter up! Please read and review... Just saying... I want to have at least twenty reviews altogether before I update. I know I'm asking for a lot... but let's face it... If you keep reading this and don't review, then that means you are just lazy. Okay... well instead of going on a rant I'll just let you read and have happy fun times. I admittedly love this chapter because one of my favorite characters comes into play. You'll see who. I'll give you a hint though... He's in Final Fantasy and Aqua was asked to give him something in Birth By Sleep. Now... without further adieu! The Disclaimer.**

**Naminé: -Pulls out piece of paper- "Lionwings owns nothing... Especially because he hates using OC's that have names..."**

**Roxas: Yeah I understand, they're a little annoying. Unless they're made to be totally messed up.**

**Kairi: Everyone hates Mary Sues.**

**Shut up. You're a Mary Sue. *By the way... If you want Kairi to get into an "accident" say so in your review... Heh heh heh.*  
**

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Chapter 5

I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe or anything. I could only stand there and stare at him. What did he say? Was I just imaging this whole thing? The questions were replied with silence. I didn't know if I should be angry with Olette, happy with Sora, or both. Olette had gone behind my back and enacted Stage Two of her plan, when I specifically told her not to. She was going to get a beating if I had anything to say about it. Sora could probably see the anger in my face. He backed away slightly but continued to wait for my answer. I didn't know what to tell him. If I lied, then I would never forgive myself. If I told the truth Olette would get exactly what she wanted.

After much deliberating I pulled out a piece of paper from my pocket. Sora saw it and handed me a pen that he was holding in his hand. I could feel that the pen was hot and sweaty, and concluded he was as anxious for the answer as I was. I uncapped the pen and dragged it across the paper. The words were difficult but I needed them to come. I looked at him; he was still emotionless as I handed him the sheet. I saw his eyes widen as he read my answer. There was some unknown emotion in his eyes, but I couldn't tell what it was.

"So, it was you," He smiled lightly. "I thought there was something different about you. I really did. From the moment I first saw you."

I was blushing at this point, if you didn't already assume I was. It would be hard not to, and I had not expected the response. I tried averting my face from his to hide my blush, but it didn't work; his eyes were laughing at me. I didn't know what to think. Was he laughing at me because I was basically a stalker, or because he thought that the fact I was blushing was the funniest thing in the world?

He betrayed his emotions for a moment to give me a confused look. It was in that moment that I knew neither of us knew what to do next. He was staring at me and I was staring at him. It was almost silent. The only sounds were the muted voices coming from the Cafeteria behind next door.

When about two minutes had passed, the door slammed open. "What are you two doing in here?" I could recognize the voice anywhere. I turned with the darkest, angriest, most evil face I could ever muster and glared right at her. "Uh-oh. I had better run." Olette said as she ran out of the room faster than a bolt of lightning.

I was about to follow, but hesitated at the door. I shot Sora a look and he smiled. "Don't worry about it. I just wanted to know." I nodded and proceeded to run after Olette, who had gone into the cafeteria to try and lose herself in the crowd. She succeeded for a while too, until I found her hiding in the back behind Roxas and Riku. Odd place to hide. I know. She was almost cowering in fear and looked like she was safe behind the two boys. As soon as they saw my face though, they both muttered some half-assed excuse and walked away as quickly as possible. I was _that_ scary when I was mad.

"Oh. Hi Naminé," Olette spoke weakly. "What's up?"

'You started the plan without my permission? DIDN'T I TELL YOU NOT TO?' I shouted in my head, hoping it would be loud enough to put the look on my face.

"Yes, I know you told me not to! But I had a good reason for it!" She replied to my expression. "Sora was asking questions and he made the connection. I just told him to ask you because you would tell him. He found out all on his own. I swear!"

I highly doubted that. Olette was an evil, conniving, organized creature. She could control people to do her will. Well, not really, but it seemed that way some times. I glared at her for a few minutes and finally sighed in submission. I pulled out a piece of paper and used Sora's pen, which was still in my hand, to write something I would probably regret writing. "Well, we already started the plan, even if it was unintentional... So, I guess it would be okay if we keep going with it."

Olette squealed with excitement suddenly, making me jump almost five feet into the air. "You won't regret this, Naminé! I swear that this will all work out! You'll see!"

I highly doubted it. Especially considering the awkwardness of my last conversation with Sora, but I was still going to try. I walked away from her and she was right on my tail, muttering things to herself about her plan. I remembered hearing something about Riku, and I just shook my head. He was okay, but still not dating material. I would rather use Roxas… but then I would feel guilty because his crush on me was a little obvious. I didn't really feel that way about him. He would be a good friend, but a friend is all he'd be.

Olette seemed to know what I was thinking and, scoped out the guys around us. "Don't worry Name! I'll find you someone. I swear it!"

'She swears a lot,' I thought dryly. 'Now, I had better get some say in this.'

The bell rang and Olette groaned. "Now we'll have to talk about this later. Damn, I was hoping to get this all settled before lunch was over!"

Her face dropped as she huffed away to her next period class. I smiled and took out my schedule to see what class I had next. 'Study hall in the Library?' Go figure. The one class I didn't want was the class I needed to go to. 'Oh well, at least I can use the time to clear my head,' I thought absentmindedly.

The library in the school was gigantic. The bookshelves reached the ceilings and covered the entire wall. There was a barrage of reds, yellows, and blues as I walked by each of the tall bookshelves. Most of the books looked untouched and very old, but also very well kept. I walked to the back of the room where the librarian's office was to see where, exactly, the teacher of the class was. Sitting on a chair behind a small desk was a beautiful looking brunette with golden eyes. The plaque on the desk read, "Miss Fleur," so I assumed that was the woman. As I was walking towards her, she turned her head and smiled as soon as she saw me.

"Well, hello there!" She greeted me with a kind tone. "I'm Miss Fleur, but please, feel free to call me Belle. Are you here for the Study Hall? Because if you are, you're going to be helping me with running this library for the period."

I gave her a look that I hoped said, "What the hell?"

She saw the look, and smiled. "I'm sorry… but normally I have a gigantic study hall. The principal this year thought that I should just get one student and then they can help me with all of the books and the returns and whatnot. I'm sorry you weren't informed of this before," She replied apologetically. "You are Naminé, right? I've heard about you from Ariel. She seems to think that you have a good head on your shoulders. She also feels bad that no one knew you couldn't talk, so she sent out an email to the rest of the teachers. I don't know why the administration didn't already do that when you transferred, though..."

'Tell me about it,' I rolled my eyes, thinking. I pulled out a piece of paper and wrote, "So, is it usually busy in here? Because it doesn't really look that way."

She sighed. "I know it doesn't look that exciting, but believe you me, it gets almost obnoxiously busy in here. Especially this period, because the students normally use this period to do research and homework before they go home for the day."

I groaned inwardly. 'I totally forgot this is the last period! This school is so weird! Normal schools have eight periods.'

Belle smiled at me again, but this time there was an apology in her eyes. Almost as if she was sorry this was the last period. She then led me to the bookshelves and gave me my first job as assistant librarian. It was to wait around for students and help them with any, and all, book selections. She said it may be awkward because I couldn't talk, but she assured me I wouldn't have to. I waited about fifteen minutes and no one came around. I was just about to give up when a boy walked over to me. He had black hair that was spiked in a way very similar to Sora's, except for the bangs that fell into his face. He had deep, innocent blue eyes and walked with a little bit of a strut. I glanced at him for a second and looked away. I could feel his stare at me, and this caused me to blush. I blushed because he was pretty attractive.

He walked towards me and gave me a big, sincere, happy smile. It reminded me of Sora's, and also reminded me that everyone in the school had attractive smiles. 'It must be a prerequisite to get in,' I thought dryly as he tapped me on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, Miss, I was looking for a book, and hoped that you could show me where it was?" I nodded, hoping he would take it as a hint to go on. "It's called, 'Constellations of Heroes.' It should be somewhere in the astronomy section but I couldn't find it anywhere."

I sighed and motioned him to follow me. I led him to the astronomy section and found the book hidden away behind a book titled, 'Eclipses: Ones That Don't Have to Do with Vampires.' I smiled a little and handed him the book. He smiled again, and I began to walk away. As I was walking away though, I tripped over a stack of books and hit a bookshelf. The bookshelf began to wobble, and started falling towards me while I was lying useless on the ground. I closed my eyes and braced myself for an impact that would surely kill me.

I heard the THUD of the bookshelf, but oddly, didn't feel any pain. I was sure I was about to die, but somehow didn't feel a thing. I opened my eyes to see that I was in the boy's arms and the bookshelf had tipped over completely. Belle had come running to see what had happened and saw me, shaking like a leaf, in the boy's arms. She asked him what happened and he told her that I had tripped over and knocked over a bookshelf. He then continued, saying that he grabbed me before the bookshelf fell.

"Oh, thank goodness no one got hurt," Belle breathed in relief. "Zack, can you do me a big favor and take Naminé to the nurse. She looks a little stressed and could use some professional help."

The boy, whose name was apparently Zack, nodded and walked me towards the nurse. "Are you okay? You seem a little… shaken."

I nodded quietly and pulled out my pen and paper. "Yeah. Thank you so much for saving me."

He laughed. "No problem. I'm always aiming to be somebody's hero."

"I owe you, and don't worry. For what you just did you're my hero," I wrote.

He smiled and gave me a pat on the head. "All in a day's work, but if you really think you owe me… You could always pay me back by going on a date with me."

I stiffened in his arms. 'Am I really hearing this?' I thought. 'This may be the date I can use to make Sora jealous! I think Olette will be proud.'

I wrote, "Sure, how about tonight? 6 o'clock? At the mall?"

He smiled again. "Sounds perfect."

We finally got to the Nurse's office, only to find that the nurse had gone home for the day. I was about to get angry when the final bell rang and the students started coming out into the halls. Zack smiled at me and ran off towards the front doors. "I'll see you tonight!" He yelled happily.

'I had better go tell Olette,' I thought. But when I turned around, I saw her standing against the wall, smiling coyly.

"So, is Part Three in position?" She laughed. "Of course it is. I like your choice, by the way. Zack is one of my friends. It isn't a surprise he asked you out because I asked him to."

This pissed me off a bit. I would have thought that my damsel in distress act would have actually gotten me a date on my own. That, however, seemed to not be the case. I glared at her, and she obviously knew what it meant. She wasn't stupid, just a little off. She smiled and pulled me towards the front doors, assuring me that Sora would be able to see, in plain view, Zack and I having a wonderful date. That he would get extremely jealous and, while being egged on by Olette, would ask me out then and there. I didn't believe that would happen, but the worst I got out of this deal was a night out of the house.

I was walking to my locker, by myself because Olette was doing something that she deemed to be on a need to know basis, and ran into Sora. Quite literally, I actually bumped into him and fell on my, to put it eloquently, ass. He turned around to see me on the floor with my hair in a crazy mess underneath my head. He chuckled and gave me a hand up off the ground. I smiled in thanks and put my hands behind my back.

"We must really stop meeting like this," He joked, smiling like a madman. "Actually, I have something I want to talk to you about."

I nodded slowly, wondering where he would go with this. "I was wondering… if you would…" He started blushing profusely. "Sorry, normally I'm more forward with this kind of stuff but… Okay… Would you like to go to the mall with me tonight?"

'Holy. Hot. Damn.' I thought. 'I bet Olette didn't expect this one, but I can't stop the plan now. If I did she would kill me, even if he did ask me out, which he did. Oh damn.'

I pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down some of the hardest words I could ever manage to write on a sheet of blank notebook paper. "Sorry, Sora. I already have a date tonight."

His smile fell from his face when he read it. I could see the sorrowful look in his eyes when he put the note down. It actually hurt me to see him like this, but it was all a part of the plan. I just hoped that Olette and Riku knew what they were doing, because if they didn't I was going to kill them both in their sleep. "So, who is the lucky man?" Sora asked with a crestfallen expression on his face. "Someone I know?"

I shrugged and wrote down my response on the piece of paper. "I think you might. His name is Zack Fair." I passed him the note, thankful that Olette had told me Zack's full name. If I didn't know, I might've come across as a whore. Actually, in retrospect, I probably wouldn't have. Whatever. I still have some sort of reputation to uphold. Sora stared at the name and sighed. I could only imagine what he was thinking. He could be thinking about how unlucky he was, or how two-faced I was, or even about tomorrow's lunch menu. I couldn't tell by his expression. It wasn't exactly emotionless, but it looked borderline dead.

"What a lucky guy," Sora finally said with a small amount of acid in his voice. "I hope you two have fun."

He started to turn and walk away, but before he did, I tapped him on the shoulder and handed him a note. "What's this?" he asked. I motioned for him to flip it over and read the name on the front. "Oh, a note from Olette. Thanks, Naminé."

He turned again and started walking away. It hurt me to see that his normal, joyful, happy walk had been reduced to a slow shuffle. I was hoping with all my heart that Olette was totally sure this plan was going to work. If it didn't work, then I was going to kill her. 'Maybe if I think that enough then she'll get the subliminal message and make it work,' I thought angrily. 'He was going to ask me out regardless. Maybe I should have avoided the plan altogether. If I didn't though, Olette would kill me. She spent hours on this plan.' I sighed while thinking. 'Oh well. Part Three is in progress, and I'll just have to wait and see where it takes me.'

I walked out of the school and saw my mother sitting on one of the benches by the water fountain. She looked my way and waved. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly. 'This day has been hell. But at least Mom is always here with nice warm hugs,' I thought in her warm embrace.

"I thought I should come and pick you up. Your father is all hot and bothered about your date tonight," She whispered in my ear.

'Wait, what did she say?' I thought, instantly frightened by the idea. 'Did she say Dad knows about my date? OH CRAP!'

She held up her phone, and a new text message screen popped up on the front screen. It read, "New Text from: Olette."

I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote (Still with Sora's pen,) "You have been texting Olette all day? AND YOU DIDN'T THINK I WOULD CARE!"

She just smiled knowingly and pulled me to her light blue minivan. "Yes I did know you would care. But, don't blame me. Olette was the one who gave me her cell phone number."

I just slapped my hand to my forehead in response.

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**Author's note: Okay... not to float my own boat... but I have another story that I just posted under the Super Smash Brother's fandom. If you like LinkXPokémon trainer then check it out. It's called Love, Unrequited. So yeah... But anyways. READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! Like I said before... I want at least twenty altogether. As in the reviews section underneath the story summery should say twenty... Just sayin. Peace!**


	6. Phase 4, We all fall down

**Author's note: Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. I'm so sorry it took so long to write this. I've been a little bit busy and I let the time get away from me! I'm also going to warn you that this isn't betaed. I don't have school this week and my Beta isn't responding so thus making my life a bit chapter took me a while but I hope you like it. It does get a little intense towards the end, but I hope it answers some questions. This story is going into a bit of an angsty spiral, but it was eventually going to happen. This chapter should answer all of the questions that were asked about the Solstice kids... and the next chapter is going to, hopefully, answer even more. Along with bringing in the Antagonist. So yeah. I again apologize for taking so long with this darn chapter. Let's just say I kind of buried myself in writing. I have like two more chapter stories that are occuring and I would rather like one of them to get done soon. Probably going to be my Naminé X Zack fanfic... (What can I say? I liked the pairing.) Oh, THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! IT HAS BEEN MY DREAM TO HIT 30 REVIEWS ON A STORY! Anyways, without further adieu, THE DISCLAIMER!**

**Zack: Lionwings owns nothing, and also wishes that either I was older or Cloud was younger in this story.**

**Cloud: Yeah. Liowings has a bit of a weird obsession...**

**Sora: Whatever! Stop complaining. This is Naminé's story. Not yours!**

**Thank you Sora. I couldn't have said it better myself.  
**

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Silence, Chapter 6

The drive home with Mom wasn't that bad now that I think back on it. It was a bit awkward though because she wouldn't stop asking me questions about Olette's plan and about Part Three. I tried to explain to her that: yes I like Sora, no I do not want to date Zack, yes this date is a formality, no I wasn't mad at Olette for dragging me into uncharted territory, and finally yes I think Sora is cute. My mom wouldn't stop bombarding me with these useless questions, especially because I found out that Olette had told my mom more than she told me. She had already sent my mom a picture of Sora; she had already told my mom about Zack and sent a picture of him, and she even had the gall of sending my mom a copy of my picture of Sora sleeping underneath the tree.

I wasn't quite mad, per se, but I was still frustrated about this whole situation. Olette had told me she would talk to me when I got home. I agreed and decided to go in and start getting ready for my "fake date" with Zack. I was sitting on my bed and stared at the small mirror on my wall. I assessed my own traits, trying to see if there was any major flaw with my appearance that would make me any less appealing to Zack and Sora. My father was still venting downstairs about my date, even though he told me earlier it would be okay as long as I brought him home. My mom had softened him up, though, because this was only a fake date. He still wasn't all too pleased with the news though, because it just meant that his little girl was old enough to start, "Lying and Cheating her way around like a woman." My mom smacked him at his words and told that he wasn't allowed to be sexist in the house. He grumbled a little and obligingly shut up for the rest of the day.

I heard Olette running up the stairs about five minutes after I had decided that: I hated everything in my closet, all of my makeup makes me look trashy, and I wasn't sure exactly what was happening on this fake date with Zack. She opened the door with a hanger covered in a plastic bag and a small black purse hanging on her shoulder. She smiled at me and pulled me out of the fetal-position like ball I was on the floor. "Don't worry Naminé! I came prepared!" She yelled with excitement, opening the plastic bag to reveal a dress that looked almost exactly like my white ones except for the fact it was midnight blue with a bright crimson belt.

I pulled out a piece of paper and wrote, "What, in hells name, is that?"

She looked at me with a hurt expression. "It is only the dress I stole from your room last night without you noticing that I had my mom dye blue. I thought that maybe tonight you should show some color. I hate to admit it, but your wardrobe is really white. Sora was telling me about how his favorite color is blue…"

She gave me an expectant look. Almost as if she expected me to jump up and put on the dress just because I liked Sora. I was not, however, going to degrade myself like that. Instead I just ripped the dress from her hand, pushed her out the door and slammed my door shut. After I had about two minutes of changing and looking at myself in the mirror, Olette came back into the room and smiled that deep toothy grin when she saw me. It was the same grin she had when she heard I agreed with the Plan, God, how I hated that damn grin. It always meant pain, be it mental or physical, on my part.

"I told you. I told you," She spoke in giddiness. "It was just a matter of time before we got you to wear color again."

I rolled my eyes at her. 'She doesn't really get that I don't only own white dresses, does she?' I thought dryly. 'She is either an idiot or she's totally unaware of the world.' I gazed over at Olette doing her little happy, "I got Naminé to wear a color" dance. I smacked my hand to my face and thought, 'She's totally unaware.'

Five minutes after Olette finally got over her happy dance, she decided to tell me the plan for the fake date. Zack would come and pick me up at 6:00 and meet my parents. Cloud will get what Cloud wants, my mom can meet the boy and fawn over him showering us with pictures and later put them in a scrapbook titled, "My Daughter's first fake date," and Olette will help get Zack back up to speed with the total plan of attack. Then he would take me to the Mall and Olette would be picking up Sora, whom she convinced in some way or another to go with her to the mall tonight, and make it so they are "accidentally" in the same place as Zack and I and help fuel Sora's jealousy. Zack and I would then have a "fight" and I would end up alone and crying (Fake tears of course) and Sora would comfort me and then we'd have our first kiss and be an official couple. Unfortunately for Olette, her plans never work out just right.

She left at about quarter after five with a grin on her face and both thumbs up. "Don't worry, Naminé! This'll work."

I nodded in hopes it would make her leave faster. Luckily enough, it did. She went back into her house and I walked back into mine. I was just about to head up the stairs when I heard my mom and dad talking rather quietly in the kitchen. Normally, I wouldn't have bothered to see what they were talking about but when I heard the worried tone in their voices, my ears snapped to attention.

"I don't really want her going to the mall," My dad said in his gruff yet oddly concerned sounding voice. "You remember what the therapist said. We don't want her to have another relapse. If anything there sets her off then we'll have a hell of a time fixing it again."

"I know, generally I wouldn't let her go either," My mom admitted. "But she'll have her friends there, looking after her. I don't even think that there'll be any chance that she'll relapse. It isn't as though they go to the Mall much anymore. I've gone there after dark for about a week. It's been void of any of them. I didn't even see those other two there. So don't worry. She won't get a relapse tonight," My mom concluded firmly.

"If you're sure," He replied calmly. "I really hope you're right."

I walked up the rest of the stairs and went into my room. I was wondering who they were talking about. I thought at the time that they were talking about my cousin Yuna, because she always seems to get into some sort of trouble. They were probably just worrying about her again. She always seemed to break down and start crying lately, probably because her boyfriend broke up with her. Go figure, they were one of the best couples I had ever seen.

I waited in my bedroom for five thirty to come. I was staring at the clock, willing it to move faster and directly at five thirty the doorbell rang. I ran down the stairs and stood still at the bottom as my dad opened the door. I shot him a look that hopefully said, "Please don't kill him. He is only a fake date." Hopefully my dad got the message. Although, he did give Zack one of the dirtiest looks I have ever seen him give anyone. 'Only Cloud,' I thought wistfully. Zack was still smiling that big, goofy smile though. I was pretty sure he didn't stop smiling.

He turned to me and his eyes widened a little, it seems he didn't expect me to dress up any differently for the date. I bet his was surprised that I had even needed to. "Wow, Naminé, you look stunning," He breathed. I rather liked the way he said it. It reminded me of how a gentleman would talk to a lady. Too bad I liked Sora, or else Zack would definitely be who I would go after. He was dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans and wore a silvery-grey polo. His hair was still in its normal messy spikes and his eyes were still the same shade of sapphire that they were before.

I smiled and blushed a little at his response to my appearance. I wasn't used to being complimented on it. He was smiling as I pulled him outside towards Olette's house for a briefing about "The Plan." Zack was complying rather nicely. Most people would have just said, "Screw Olette. Let's just go on a date!" But it seems that Zack is different than most people. Good thing too, if I had to deal with one more person like Olette in my life, let's just say, you don't want to know what would happen.

Once we were at Olette's house, she ushered us in through the front door and pulled us into a small entryway. The inside of her house never ceased to amaze me. It was about the same size as mine, but it was more… colorful. Whereas my house was mostly white, cream, and beige, her house was made up of blue, red, and yellow. It made my house look like the inside of an insane asylum. I was always surrounded by color and it always, always, made me stick out. Due to my pale skin and hair, I can't blend in well with color. Actually, I stick out like a sore thumb.

"Nice place, Olette," Zack whistled. "I never thought _you_ would live in so much color. Especially knowing who your dad is," He added loudly.

"Hello to you to, Zack," Olette's dad called from the next room over. He walked in and waved at me. Olette's dad was always acting like I was his own daughter. I guess it was because of his closeness to my dad. Apparently they were… best friends… or something like that. They don't like to get into detail for some reason. Well, anyways, he smiled at me and walked back into the kitchen. Zack rolled his eyes. I didn't know why, the place must have been filled with inside jokes.

"Zack, you come over to my house on a normal basis. You should know that I do actually live in a colorful house," Olette said with sarcastically edged voice.

He grinned. "Yeah, but I always like saying funny things in front of a lady," He said eloquently, motioning to me with his hand. I blushed, of course, and turned away from him.

Olette gave him a bitter look. "Zack, we are trying to get Naminé to go out with Sora. It won't help if you keep flirting with her. Besides, you owe me. Don't make me have to collect on that. I do still have the contract."

Zack's eyes widened and he nodded his head, clearly defeated by the ultimate force of Olette's trickiness. 'I really have to ask her how she does all of this someday,' I mused before pointing at my wrist. She nodded and explained Part Four. Yes, she did originally only plan three parts. So, technically this is Part Three B, but she called it Part Four for simplicity reasons.

"Okay, so I got you two a reservation at the Moonlight Café. It's all set for 6:30. I will be arriving with Sora at around 6:25 and we will have the table that is directly in your view. Okay… so what I want you two to do are act like you are both enjoying yourselves. That's probably going to be your easiest job. After that, I want you two to get up and walk by the fountain in the mall. You know the gigantic one? There, I will take Sora just in time to see you two leaning in for a kiss. He will be baited by me a little and rush forward to stop the kiss. Almost like when in those sappy romance novels, where that one guy interrupts the wedding service yelling, 'I object!' Except that this will be less dramatic. Or maybe even more, I really don't know," She finished smiling to herself.

This plan was a lot different from what Olette had originally planned. 'What happened to the whole 'fight' idea? I liked that idea,' I thought darkly. Not that I didn't like Zack enough to pretend to kiss him. It would probably just be really, really awkward… Well, this had better go good,' I thought desperately as Olette explained things Zack and I could do to make it look like we're on a date, rather than a mission. I would have asked her, but sometimes it's better to just go with what Olette tells you to do.

"Okay… Hold up. What if Sora doesn't split us apart before the kiss?" Zack asked patiently. "I'm not sure if Naminé will want to kiss me, especially if she is in love with Sora."

I smiled at him. I hoped the smile conveyed a message of thanks to him. He smiled back with appreciation. What he was appreciative about, I have no idea. Olette was in an intense thinking position, almost as if she was going to answer his question. "I wonder what they serve at the restaurant. Maybe they have Potato skins!"

Of course she wasn't going to answer. That was just one of the perks of Olette. She was still contemplating what to eat at the restraint even when Zack had asked her an important question. One of which I was curious to have answered. I gave him a look and he nodded. "What if Sora doesn't split us apart, Olette?" Zack reiterated louder than the first. She turned to him as if she hadn't heard him the first time and smiled mischievously. Her smile scared me, and still does scare me for that matter. She turned to me and stared into my eyes (Like a creeper if I do say so myself.)

"I really don't think Naminé would mind," She stated simply. "It's not as if you're bad to look at or anything."

Zack smiled and nodded his head. "You're right. It isn't as though anyone doesn't want all of this," He replied motioning to his body. I rolled my eyes in reply.

'And I thought he was a gentleman,' I thought dryly. He turned to me and gave me a big smile, almost as if he had heard what I thought. It was impossible… but God only knows I had been through some pretty unbelievable stuff that day (Cough, cough, Riku, Cough, cough.) I smiled back, trying to be charming and more than likely failing epically. He put his arm around my shoulder and my face turned the color of a cherry, again. He laughed at my expense and Olette joined in. His laugh reminded me of someone else's laugh, though I couldn't place my finger on it exactly, so I just put it out of my mind.

I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote, "So, how did you get Sora to come anyways? I know you told me to give him a note but what did you say on it?"

Olette smiled widely. "Oh, that's easy. I told him I would help him win you back!" I almost fell over when she said that.

"Well isn't that a little obvious?" Zack asked boldly. "I mean, wouldn't he kind of notice something strange when you help your cousin over your two best friends? I don't think Sora is that thick."

Olette only grinned and shook her head. I took it as a, "Yes, Sora is that thick." I don't know what Zack got from it though. He just shook his head and started walking me towards the door. It was currently 6:15, and we needed to be at the mall at 6:30. Olette needed to be there earlier, but knowing her she would be late. She rushed past us and waited at the end of the driveway. Zack hurried us away to my house as Sora's car came into view. Olette gave me a wink as she walked over to the car. Phase Four begins.

Zack smiled and pulled me over to his car. It was rather small compared to Sora's but still was presentable. Unlike some rust-bucket cars that teenagers were meant to have. He opened the passenger side door and allowed me to sit inside. I smiled and sat down. He closed the door and ran over to the other side, got in, and started up the car. "Are you ready for this?" He asked as he pulled out of the driveway and went down the street. Luckily enough for us the mall wasn't even five minutes from my house.

I nodded my head and looked out the window as we passed Solstice High. I thought I saw Roxas walking by the school but shook my head. 'Roxas probably lives over in the rich district of town. Why would he be in the middle district?' I thought, scolding myself. I watched as the boy disappeared into the distance. 'But something seems really familiar about him.'

We pulled into the parking lot at about 6:23 and found a parking space at 6: 25. Zack smiled as he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the mall at a fast pace. I kept up pace with him so I wouldn't fall on my face. The mall was quiet, as usual considering that we were in a small town. The only stores that seemed to be busy were: Aeropostle, American eagle, Holister, and several other stores that made my I.Q. drop points whenever I passed them. The small water fountain was trickling peacefully in the center of the small common. Normally there would be teenagers sitting around it, talking about random teenage things, but there didn't seem to be anyone there. We blew by it quickly and finally got to the Moonlight Café, just on time.

The waiter was sitting at a small desk in front of the Fancy restraint. "Hello. May I help you?" He asked with a slightly French Accent.

Zack stepped forward. "Yes, Mr.-Luxord. We have a reservation for 6:30 for Zack Fair."

The waiter looked down at the list and nodded. "Yes, we have a table for two for a Mr. Zack Fair. Your table is ready. Please, follow me."

Zack took my hand in his and lead me to the table. Mr. Luxord set two menus up on each of the seats. The table was covered in a midnight blue tablecloth and had a tapered candlestick in the center, setting off a soft, romantic glow over the rest of the table. He smiled at us and waited for us to be seated. Zack held out my chair for me and, once I was comfortable, sat opposite me with a smile on his face. The waiter then read off the specials of the night and left saying that our waitress for the evening would come soon.

I took a quick look around to try and find Olette. She was quite well hidden but eventually I found Sora's big hair. They were at a table that was close to ours but was obscured from view by a tree. It was really clever of Olette actually, because she knew that she didn't want Sora to see me looking at him, and she wanted a place that Sora would think they were using to hide from mine and Zack's view. Maybe she was a genius after all.

"Hello, I am your waitress for tonight," The teenage girl smiled politely. She had light blue hair and matching eyes. Her skin was pale and was about a foot taller than I was. She seemed very beautiful and very, very familiar. It almost made me rip out my hair trying to remember. I knew her; I just didn't know how I knew her. She looked at me with a smile, but it dropped. Her eyes suddenly got bigger and her hands started shaking. "Naminé?" She asked quietly. "Naminé? It's me Aqua! I haven't seen you in so long!" She hugged me tightly, which was very unprofessional of her. I pulled away from her hug quickly. I didn't know her, so I wasn't going to hug her, no matter how familiar she was to me.

"Naminé, what's wrong?" She asked again.

All I could think was, 'How does she know my name?'

"Naminé, Ventus and I were so worried about you! After that day, you wouldn't look at us, and when you didn't come back on the first day of school we were terrified of what happened to you!" She gushed at me. I was getting dizzier and dizzier by the second.

"Um, Aqua is it? Can you please leave? I don't think Naminé wants to talk to you," Zack intervened calmly.

"What do you mean? We're best friends. Why wouldn't Nami want to talk to me?" She asked with a bit of venom in her voice.

The nickname stung when I heard it. Something about it gave me a bad vibe, I normally got a bad vibe from the nickname, but more so from this girl than anyone else. She was still looking at me, almost as if I had grown gigantic purple ears. I felt like I was going to throw up. My head was pounding along with my heart. Although, I was driven off the edge when a certain boy came running over to the table. He was blond, with deep sapphire blue eyes. His hair was spiked up in a gravity defying way. Zack tilted his head to the left when he saw the boy.

"Roxas? What are you doing here?" He asked with a concerned tone.

The boy shot Zack a confused look. "Roxas? Who's Roxas? My name is Ventus. Oh yeah- Aqua, Terra wanted me to find you," Ventus said to Aqua, who was still staring at me intently. He saw that she was staring at me and turned his head to see why. Once he got a good view of me, his eyes widened. "Naminé? Oh my God! I haven't seen you in forever!"

It was then when my head was throbbing with pain. I didn't know what was happening. I was totally unaware of my surroundings. Ventus grabbed my hand but I pulled it away quickly. He frowned. "Naminé? Aren't you happy to see me?" He asked. His voice sent another wave of pain through my head.

I suddenly stood up, surprising everyone, and ran out of the restaurant as fast as I could. I left everyone in my wake. I ran out of the mall, my horrible memories flooding back to me, my memories of the insults, my memories of my friends, my memories of Solstice High. Each new memory was another throb in my head. I felt desolate. I felt dirty. I wasn't meant to be happy. I should be alone. I ran faster, leaving behind everything. I wasn't fit to have friends, or even a crush. I was just too… unworthy. So I ran to the one place that no one would find me. It was only a few minutes from the mall. No one would ever think of looking for me there.

I ran to my Sanctuary, not thinking of what I would have to pass on my way there.

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**A.N.: Wow... Intense right? I really hope this answers some questions. And if you didn't know, Naminé was the one with repressed memories. So yeah. Read and Review. I want about 35 reviews before my next chapter. Please? Believe me getting over 30 reviews is like a dream. I never thought I would get so much feedback. Or any feedback for that matter. although someday I aspire to hit 50. *Looks dreamily into sky* But whatever. REVIEW PLEASE!**


	7. Running from fear

**Author's note: Sorry again for the late post. I've been really, really busy as of late. But I'm finally done with this chapter. This is, more than likely going to be the last chapter. Unless, of course, someone wants an epilogue. But I decided on seven chapters for this... So yeah... Don't worry though. I will probably end up writing an epilogue to this anyways. So Yeah... Oh and Rith, to answer your question Olette's father is Leon. Probably should have made that a little more clear. But anyways, I really hope you like this chapter. Even if it does get a little bi-polar. It's bi-polar for a reason though, I think it helps show how emotionally imbalanced Naminé actually was. I would also like to warn that I didn't Beta this chapter. Sorry if there are spelling/grammar mistakes. I really hope they don't take away from the story too much. So yeah... Happy reading, and without further adieu... THE DISCLAIMER!**

**Naminé: You know what? I'm actually gonna talk for this one! Lionwings owns nothing.**

**Sora: Aww... Too bad for Lionwings...  
**

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Silence, Chapter 7

I didn't deserve to live. Nothing could make this a false statement in my mind. Everything was better than me, nothing was beneath me. I was lower than dirt and bugs. I was just someone who was lucky to be alive. No one loved me. No one wanted me. I was just a pain that no one wanted to bear. The memories I regained assured me of this. Olette was only using me to make fun of me. Zack was only being a gentleman because he thought it was funny to make fun of someone worthless. Sora didn't ever want me, he only asked me out to leave me out to dry on the first date.

I want to say that I didn't cry, but that would be a lie. I was running, as if for my life, with tears streaking down my face. I was a sight to behold, an ugly girl, crying like a baby while running down the street. People must have been laughing like hyenas, laughing at the girl who couldn't defend herself, laughing at the girl who would never feel love. I felt like crying even more, but I wouldn't until I was alone. I would do this for myself. I would act strong until no one was around. After all, I didn't deserve to be near people in the first place.

The night was, oddly, very quiet. The silence of it almost scared me to death. It was almost never quiet there. There would always be some sort of car noises, people yelling, or anything else around to make noise. It was almost as if the world had gone silent just to stare at a girl who didn't belong because of her dirtiness and her desire to disappear. It was almost as if the world had become mute as well, not able to speak because of me. I was saddened by this, along with other things.

It took me a while to figure out I was running to no place in particular. I knew where I wanted to go, but my feet weren't taking me there. I then turned myself around and ran towards my destination, totally forgetting the fact I would have to run by a certain school. I didn't think about it though, because I just wanted to be alone in my only safe place. I just wanted peace.

It was about a ten minute run from where I currently was to my sanctuary. I would need to go down Main Street, and pass Olette's house and my house, but I thought to myself, 'I can do this. I need to be strong… for now.'

I ran to Main Street and tried to hide behind the small number of passersby, so that if Olette was trying to find me, she would have a hard time of it. My dress was dark enough that I wouldn't have to worry about getting too much attention, but the crimson belt had to go. So I dropped it in the street and started running, again. About three minutes in my mad dash, I heard someone calling my name.

"Naminé! Naminé, where are you?" I hid behind a, conveniently placed, bush and saw Ventus (or maybe Roxas, I still couldn't tell those two apart at the time) running down the street with a panicked look on his face. It was almost as if he wanted to find me. I could tell that if he did he would start mocking me. He didn't want to find me for unselfish reasons, but to bring me back to Olette and pretend to be my friend. It still amazed me how I forgot about him. After all he did for me, I should have trusted him, but I didn't. A person's past doesn't define their future. I learned that first hand.

He soon passed and was around the corner and into another street. 'I guess they're looking for me. Ventus wouldn't be out here by himself, Olette would be helping. She doesn't want to let me go,' I thought ruefully. They just wanted to make fun of me. They just wanted to use me for their own devices.

The pain was still there, deep, infuriating, frightening pain. It was unlike I have ever experienced. Such a betrayal hurt me. I might have exploded if I didn't try to stop thinking about it. I ran from behind the conveniently placed bush and started heading down the street. I was around the corner and in a dark backstreet that I could use to stay out of the crowd. The only problem was that, with the lack of people, it would be much easier for me to be spotted. I would be a sitting duck, but maybe there would be another conveniently placed bush. 'Probably not,' my mind reasoned.

The street was, in fact, deserted. It looked as though no one had been there in about fifty years, quite literally. I actually saw a poster floating around on the ground that was dated 1964. (The current year is 2011.) Well, anyways, I walked down it and found that I was quite alone. I ran as fast as I could down the narrow street and heard some footsteps echoing from farther down the street. They were moving fast and I didn't hear any pausing in their pace. It was someone who was looking for something. I turned around and saw a silver flash of hair from somewhere down the street. I knew who it was and was pretty sure he didn't see me. I whipped around and saw a small indent in the wall of the building next to me. It was probably made to keep garbage cans in, but I went onto my hands and knees and crawled into it. I was inside when I finally heard Riku calling for me.

"Naminé, Where are you? We're all really worried!" His voice sounded frantic as he called my name. I was lucky that I had a place to hide before he found me. He was standing right next to me, if it wasn't for the cubby I was hiding in, he would have found me. "Naminé!" He yelled one last time before he ran father down the street. I waited until I could only hear a distant echo of his voice coming from farther down the street. I peeked out my head and saw him turning back onto Main Street. I slowly got up from my hiding space and slowly started inching my way towards the street Riku went down. When I was there, I looked around the corner and saw Riku father down the street, talking to a tall, muscular, brown haired boy. He looked familiar and my brain provided memories of him that I never knew about, but I couldn't name him. I knew he was Aqua's boyfriend or something like that.

I ran across the street and hoped to God that neither of them saw me. When I didn't hear any voices or footsteps following me, I assumed I was safe for the moment. 'Even Riku is looking for me. They're pulling out all of the stops, aren't they? Oh well, they won't find me, I know this town better than all of them,' I thought defiantly as I neared my destination. I was only about five minutes, by foot, from it. If I could get past the school and Olette's house, I would be home free.

I finally started to see the Solstice High school looming in the distance. Unfortunately, for me, mist was starting to form and my vision was deterred a little. I could only see the shape of the school, not as much the features. I finally reached the school and my heart dropped. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There was a group of people sitting in front of the school. Many of the boys were wearing varsity jackets with letters and sports awards attached, and many, if not all, the girls were wearing cheerleading outfits. They were all seated below a girl and a boy. The girl's hair was deep brown and shoulder length. She had deep green eyes and a tan that could only be considered fake. The boy was startlingly pale, with golden blond spikes. His eyes were a golden brown. The girl looked down at me and gave me a big (fake) smile. It looked almost as if I were a good friend that she hadn't seen in years. The boy, whose arm was around the girl's waist, followed her gaze and then he smiled in unison.

"Oh, well, if it isn't our own little Naminé," The brown haired girl said, each word coated in honey. "I haven't seen you around lately. Have you been too busy to visit?"

I stood there, shaking slightly. 'What are they doing here?' I thought silently as the girl stared at me, still smiling with a honey sweet smile. I knew that there was no good behind that smile, there was only venom.

"I see you are still as rude as ever Naminé," The blond boy snapped when I didn't acknowledge the girl's greeting. "Don't you agree, Selphie?"

Selphie nodded her head. "Yes, Hayner. She is being quite rude," Selphie said as she rose from her seat. "I thought we taught her a lesson the last time about how rudeness is tolerated."

"I thought we did too. Maybe we should teach her again?" Hayner suggested with an evil smirk on his face.

I stopped shaking. My legs stated to tense and my body froze. I wasn't nervous anymore, I was petrified. I didn't want to move, but I didn't want to stay. My body was disobeying me at the wrong times. Selphie was staring at me, waiting for some sort of reaction to tell her that I didn't want to hear it, but, because my body was frozen with fear, she didn't get one. If anything, that pissed her off even more. Hayner had a similar reaction, although he just had a cruel smile on his face.

Selphie turned and smiled wickedly back at him. "I think we should," She looked me over once and her eyes finally stopped on my dress. "Finally, the White Witch decides to wear color. Too bad it only makes her look uglier than she did while wearing white."

Hayner nodded his head. "Yeah, it's okay though, because wearing white didn't help much anyways. I mean someone that ugly will make anything they wear seem totally nasty. If you wore that dress then you would look beautiful."

Selphie laughed and started motioning for the other girls to come and join in on the mocking.

"She's such a loser. I can't believe that Aqua and Ventus were her friends. They could have done so much better," one of the faceless cheerleading drones stated.

"I know right? It's because they felt sorry for her, and made people feel sorry for them for being friends with such a lame excuse for a human being."

Loser... Whore... Ugly… Slut… Unloved… Poser… Tool... Bitch… Useless... Nobody…

I could feel the tears starting to well up in my eyes. Selphie and Hayner were laughing at me, and the other people there joined in. I couldn't stop, my eyes were starting to turn red and I could feel my knees getting weaker and weaker. I tried to weep aloud, but my throat wouldn't make any noise. I could feel the tears running down my face as the teenagers were laughing at me, coldly and without remorse.

I turned around and ran away from the spot that I was glued to. Selphie and Hayner watched me leave with triumphant looks in their eyes. They had bested a loser and felt good about it. I was emotionally destroyed. I wasn't one to be good with insults, especially from cheerleaders who always seemed to be more vicious about it. So I ran, even faster to my sanctuary. I was already past the school and would only have to pass Olette's house to get there. When I did finally pass the house, I was surprised to not find anyone outside looking for me. All of the lights were out. My house was exactly the same. It looked like there wasn't a soul in the house.

'They probably realized they could never love me and left,' I thought with fresh tears running down my cheeks. 'I know I would have.'

I turned and ran across the street to the park. I saw Olette's swing rocking back and forth in the wind, almost as if someone was swinging on it. I kept running until I was at the entrance to the forest. Almost instantly, I felt more relaxed. I was in my element. No one would ever find me here. Olette and Sora were the only two who knew about me coming here, and probably Kairi, but she wouldn't care anyways. I walked down the path to the small pond that I loved sitting at. The path was worn and covered in fallen leaves that had never been raked. It was exactly the same as it was when I was there a day before. It was still untouched by humans. It was one of the many things that I loved about the timelessness of the forest.

I remembered the events from not so long ago, the first time I laid eyes on Sora, the feelings of affection for a stranger that I felt. I shook my head at the thought and reassured myself that it was all a lie. I couldn't trust anyone. Eventually, everyone would stop looking for me and I could just sit on my bench, staring at the pond. I would finally be content, if not happy.

I finally reached the pond, smiling a little with triumph that I made it all this way. The insults were barely stinging my eyes like they were moments earlier. They wouldn't find me, so I wouldn't have to care about their opinions of me. I wouldn't have to care about who was going to judge me, or what homework I would have to do. I could just sit there and watch the starlight bounce off of the glasslike water. I could be alone, in silence for the rest of my life. And I wouldn't have had a problem with it.

I walked over to my bench and sat down. If I had any regrets at that moment, it would be that I didn't bring my sketch book with me because the sky was starting to turn black and the dim light reflected off of the pond so perfectly that it would have possibly been my best work. I was too absorbed in the moment, though, to hear the soft footsteps creeping up from behind me. I head a small snap of a twig and snapped my neck toward the intruder. When I saw the person though, I stood up from my bench and backed away.

He smiled at me with a dazzling smile that was so full of sincerity that I couldn't believe any malice to be in it. His blue eyes were too bright to be lying. His tan skin glowed softly in the moonlight, making him resemble an angel. "Naminé…" His voice was sweeter than honey, even though it held a tone of absolute relief that even I couldn't doubt was there. He walked over to me and embraced me gently, but restricting enough that I knew that he wasn't going to let go. I started crying then and there, on his shoulder with him petting my back. I finally felt relief, more relief than even the forest could have provided me with. For once I felt totally secure. For once, I felt like I could sing.

I looked up into his azure eyes and took in all of his emotions. I saw his pain, his relief, his happiness, even some emotion that I couldn't name. His eyes met mine and he pulled me a little tighter to his chest. I was happy with the way things were going. Too bad my self-esteem went down the toilet not two minutes before hand or I would have kissed him. He petted my hair and fresh tears came down my face, these tears were happy ones. He didn't understand though because he asked, "Naminé, what's wrong?"

I smiled and put my finger to his lips. 'Sora…' I thought blissfully.

He took my finger from his lips. "You know I would never hurt you, right?" He asked pressing me closer to him.

I nodded my head and closed my eyes. He was so warm. He pulled up my chin and made me face him. He smiled once more and started lowering himself towards my face. I closed my eyes and waited. I felt a small pressure flit across my lips. It was a very chaste kiss, but in my opinion it was the best kiss of my life (or only kiss, considering I've never kissed a boy before this point.) I opened my eyes as his head backed away and laid my head on his shoulder.

"Naminé!" I looked over Sora's shoulder to see Olette standing at the entrance of the clearing. I could see lines of tears still falling down her face. She ran over to me and, after pushing Sora out of the way, gave me a bear hug. "I was so worried about you! I was calling EVERYONE to try and help find you! I'm just so glad that you're safe. I wouldn't have ever forgiven myself if you were hurt. Especially because it would have been because of my stupid plan," Her eyes dropped down to her feet. She clearly couldn't look me in the eyes. So I just squeezed my arms around her.

She finally pulled back from the hug and stared me down. "Did you two kiss? Because if you didn't I'm going to be so disappointed in you!"

'Same old Olette,' I thought, rolling my eyes. 'She's so impossible.'

"That's none of your business," Sora said from behind her, flushing a shade of scarlet.

I smiled and gave Olette a covert nod and she gave a squeal of excitement in return. She whipped around and faced Sora. "If you hurt her in any way, I swear to God that you will be castrated so fast that your father will be able to feel it. Do you understand?"

Sora nodded with a frightened look on his face. It was probably because he was raised with Olette and knew that she wasn't lying. "I already told her that I would never hurt her," He replied before he added, "Dumbass," under his breath. (If you are wondering how I saw this, it's because I'm really good at reading lips.)

Olette either didn't hear that last part or pretended to not hear it. I was willing to bet it was the second choice. Olette grabbed my hand and started to pull me out of the forest, but I was a little preoccupied by the fact that Sora had a tight grip on the other hand. He smiled at me with his big azure eyes smiling at me. We walked out of the forest, the moon now fully above us and lighting our way, and I decided one thing then and there.

I didn't have to worry about what other people thought about me, because their opinions didn't matter. And that I felt that when my hand was in Sora's, even though I could never speak, I would give up my heart to sing to him.

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**Author's Note: Okay, yeah... just gonna say right now, that I am a straight guy. So sorry if the kiss wasn't what you expected it to be. But anyways. I would really appreciate reviews. And I would also like to thank everyone who reviewed on this story. So thank you to: Christopher Scott, Hitsugay's Girl, Rith, Your fellow Ezhomoyucy (Aka Ambiguous Rose**)**, Pomegranata**,** Paper Train, Alacquiene, OrganizationsNumberXIII, Minogue, SpadeJackSpade, Ventus4ever, an1995616, and Draco Oblivion. Thank you all so very much. And thank you to those who have followed this story for a long time because I really, really appreciate it. I never thought I would have a story that would get even this many reviews. I thought I was going to get like five. So if you want an epilogue then please inform me so that I may start as soon as possible. Thank you for Reading!**


	8. Back to the Past

**A/N: OMG! I'm soooo sorry that I haven't updated in so long. I've been busy lately with working on school work and tests and drama with friends. I'm really sorry! Also, I lied before. Well not as much lied but decided that I wanted to continue this story. SO, a challenge for all of you my readers on what you think should happen. I have a general idea of what I want, but I'm not totally sure what to do. SO yeah... Also, In this chapter I have a little bit of Naminé/Ventus fluff. It's not really good, and it's a flashback but I'm content. It is also very short compared to my other chapters. It is also dedicated to ventus4ever because they asked me to write something Naminé/Ventus related. (I'm working on a story but that'll take some time.) Also, there is a reason why I did this in third person, but you will find out why later... ;) SO now with the disclaimer!**

**Aqua: Lionwings owns nothing except for the flash drive this story is saved on.**

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Silence, Chapter 8

_7 years prior_

It was a cold day. The wind was blowing furiously and everyone was scurrying about to try and get out of the way of the many trees and falling branches. It was not a day that anyone would want to be alone on. A young girl, of about nine years, was sitting on a small bench in the park. The bench was placed in a little stone grotto that blocked the wind from the bench and from bombarding her with the debris flying around. In her hand was a small sketchbook and in the other was a pencil. She smiled mysteriously as she watched the people rushing about.

'I wonder why the sky is so angry,' the girl thought calmly as another gust of wind blew through the park. 'I wonder if someone made it angry.'

She shook her head and pushed herself up from the bench. She walked from the small bench to a small garden that was planted by the community. Most of the flowers had not bloomed yet because of the cold weather, but a few had sprung up from the ground. They created a small dash of color that popped out against the green and brown that most of the garden was colored. The young girl smiled and walked away from it. Until, at least, she saw something that didn't quite fit in. She looked over to the small pagoda that was in the center of the garden, where she saw a flash of a deep blue and a pale gold. Now the young girl wasn't very smart, in her opinion, but she knew that there weren't any blue flowers that bloomed that early in the spring. For that matter, there weren't any blue flowers planted in the garden.

She gingerly put her sketchbook down onto the ground as she walked, quietly, to the pagoda. She could hear voices talking. One of the voices was obviously a girl. The pitch was higher than a boy and it had a more distinct girl voice. The other voice was definitely that of a boy, for the opposite reasons of the girl. It had a slightly lower tone to it and seemed to use more "Boy words." The blond girl poked her head into one of the openings in the pagoda to watch the other kids talking.

"Ventus, we're here because it's dangerous outside," a young blue haired girl said calmly as her companion glared at her. She had her hands on her hips and was squinting her aqua blue eyes into a mock glare. Her pale skin was flawless and seemed to glow, even inside of the dark pagoda.

"Well, Aqua, maybe if we went home like I said we should, we wouldn't be stuck in this pagoda," The blond boy, Ventus, replied. He was shorter than the other girl, but shared the same pale skin and blue eyes, though his eyes were a different shade of blue. They were a deep blue, about the same color as the ocean. His golden hair was oddly styled too. It was spiky, but was styled to stand up in an almost neat pile of spikes on the top of his head.

The blond girl watched from her spot by the window. She didn't quite understand why they were arguing. If they were such good friends as they appeared, then why were they arguing? The blond girl didn't quite understand. It wasn't anything she was familiar with. 'Although,' she thought. 'I don't have any friends.' She looked up at them, keeping as quiet as she possibly could. Ventus was still arguing with Aqua. It was getting quite heated, but the blond girl could tell that it isn't quite malicious, but it did still have some anger behind it.

The blond girl started to worry, until Aqua stopped arguing and pulled Ventus into a hug. She let out a little gasp. This was weird in her opinion. That was at least until both of them turned and stared at the window she was hiding under. She quickly ducked under the edge of the window and started running away from the pagoda. She could feel the winds blowing harder and harder as she ran into it. The storm was just not going to let up, no matter how long she waited.

"Hey, you!" She heard Ventus yell as she ran ever faster towards the playground. He was following her. This was bad. She turned at the swing sets and ran right towards the slides. She was known for her ability to run up slides. She figured she could use that to her advantage. "Wait, stop!" Ventus yelled again, a little more desperate sounding.

The girl didn't stop but made her pace faster as she ran towards the slide. She ran straight up it and finally was on the high ground of the jungle gym. She ran across the rickety bridge and into the tower on the opposite side of the jungle gym. She heard the boy climb up the slide and she turned to see him reach the top and head for the rickety bridge. She then grabbed the fireman's pole that was connected to the tower. She slid down it and began running again. This time she headed for the forest at the edge of the playground. There was a small opening at the front of the forest that led to multiple paths. Each path led deeper into the forest. She turned when she reached the entrance to see Ventus running towards her. Aqua was right behind him as they neared her. The blond girl quickly turned and ran into the forest, hoping that the other two kids wouldn't follow her but would stop at the entrance like most people usually did.

She ran down a familiar path that was covered with leaves. The path was overgrown with branches that obscured it from view. She quickly dodged the shrubbery and ran down the overgrown path. She could hear Ventus and Aqua's voices as she ran. She kept it up and only dared to look back once. She saw Aqua and Ventus standing at the entrance to the path looking hesitant. Ventus's eyes met with the girl's though and he nodded to Aqua and began to traverse the densely overgrown pathway. The girl moved faster, confident that she could escape. She knew the woods better than anyone.

She looked behind her again to see Aqua catching up to her. It seemed that Ventus was nowhere to be seen. The girl knew that it was odd, but at the moment she felt that getting away from Aqua would be the best bet. She pulled back a large branch and released it quickly, hoping that it would buy her some time while she ran to the small opening at the end of the pathway. In the small clearing was a little abandoned cottage. The blond girl knew she could hide in there. It was her safe place in a situation like this. She ran to the cottage and opened the door quickly. She slammed it shut and turned the lock on the handle. She hoped that it would work, but she didn't know because she never used the lock on the door before.

Aqua arrived in the clearing and ran straight to the door of the cottage. She pulled on the handle and, when it didn't budge, started looking around to see if there was another way in. She went around to the back and found the same predicament as she found with the front. There was, in fact, a door but it was locked. Aqua frowned and turned around to tell Ventus something. When she turned around though, he wasn't there. She sighed and put her hands on her hips.

"Only Ventus would disappear without telling me where he's going," Aqua said to herself. She sighed again and started pounding on the back door.

The blond girl grimaced and backed away from the front door. 'Why are they so adamant on getting me? I didn't even do anything wrong,' the blond girl thought while trying to find a different route out of the house.

She ran into a small nook that was situated next to an old boarded window and looked around for a hole or something that she could crawl out of without bringing too much attention to herself. She couldn't find anything that she would fit into though. She sighed and walked out of the nook, only to find that there was someone standing in the center of the room, arms crossed. She quickly recoiled back into the nook and attempted to shut the small door, only to find a foot shoved in the door in order to keep it from closing.

The blond girl shuddered as Ventus walked into the nook. He was wearing a deep frown that implied he was mad. She curled herself into a ball and waited for him to do something.

"Why did you run?"

Her head turned to him. She gave him a bewildered look and was wondering what he was talking about. She turned her head to an angle to try and convey a look of, "Wait, What?" He just stared at her.

"I said, 'Why did you run?' I mean seriously, we just wanted to talk to you. Do you always assume that people are trying to kill you?" He asked with a little sarcasm lingering in his tone. "Aqua, the door's unlocked."

The Blue haired girl walked into the room with an expression that matched Ventus's. "Did you ask her why she ran? I mean seriously. We could have avoided all of this if you didn't insist on catching up to her before asking," she scolded wagging her finger in a motherly way. "You still have much to learn."

Ventus turned to her and said, "Shut up, you're only a year older than me. But remember that we're still in the same grade and I happen to have better grades than you."

Aqua rolled her eyes but dropped the subject, instead turning to the slightly shaking bewildered blond girl. "Are you okay? You're looking very pale," Aqua asked as she walked over to the girl.

The girl backed away slowly. She still didn't trust these people, they had just chased after her just to ask her why she was running away. There was barely a doubt in her head that they were totally insane. The girl took a while to register the blue haired girl's question but shook her head violently. Aqua bit her lip and shot a look to Ventus, who was still staring at the blond girl.

"Uh, are you sure? You seem nervous about something," Ventus pressed walking slowly towards the blond girl. "We're not going to beat you up or anything."

The blond girl felt slightly calmed by that, but only slightly. She pulled on the hem of her dress a bit, nervousness coursing through her body. 'What do they want?'

Aqua seemed to understand what the girl was asking and hit Ventus on the arm. "Ask her your question genius," She muttered into his ear.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot," He mumbled. "Did you drop this?" He pulled out the small sketchbook that the girl had with her before. "I found it on the ground after you ran away. I thought it belonged to you and thought that you would probably want it back."

Ventus was blushing slightly as he handed the girl her book back. She pulled it from his grip quickly and looked through the book to see if it was ruined or not. She found everything to be perfectly in tact as she scanned the book. Ventus was staring at her as she did. He noticed her cool blue eyes and her blond cascading hair. He was so absorbed in her appearance that he didn't even notice Aqua smirking at him.

'Oh, this is going to be fun,' She thought with a little malice. 'Now I can get back at him for making fun of Terra and me.'

Aqua walked lazily towards Ventus and put an arm around him. "So, do you have a little crush here or am I just seeing things?" She whispered in his ear causing him to blush.

"Uh, n-no I don't have a c-crush on her," He stuttered back making Aqua smirk again. She had him wrapped around her finger now.

The girl put her book back down and gave an even gaze to the blond and the blue haired girl. She shook her head and started to walk towards the door. These people were too weird, even for her. Ventus frowned and grabbed her arm. "Could you tell us your name?" He asked uncertainly.

The girl shook her head. 'Tell… Ha!' She thought viciously as she pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from her sketchbook. She scribbled something down quickly and shoved it into Ventus's hands before she pulled her arm from his grip and walked out the door. Aqua and Ventus just watched her as she walked out. Both of their mouths open.

Aqua was out of the trance first and shook Ventus so he could read the paper. He still looked a little dazed when he read off the sheet of paper.

"Naminé…"

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**A/N: Like I said, it's short. But please Review. But only if you want to... SORRY!**


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